


Light My Fire

by Elensule



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Monsters, Firefighter Benny Lafitte, Human Benny, M/M, Mechanic Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 02:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3960958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elensule/pseuds/Elensule
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester is a mechanic who is quite content raising his son and running his business, thank you very much. But when a quirk of fate brings the smokin' hot firefighter Benny LaFitte into his life, is world is turned upside down. Will Dean be able to trust someone else with his son, or will this fledgling relationship crash and burn?</p><p>Written for the 2015 Meant To Be Challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks, as always to the amazing Lisa. :) Without her encouragement this fic would not exist, and without her editing it wouldn't be nearly as nice as it is. Any remaining errors are mine. Thanks also to Lisa for the banner for this fic; I'm not nearly as bothered by naked fic as she is, so I get to reap the benefits! Thanks for reading, everyone!
> 
> Dare
> 
> Written for the Meant to Be challenge; my original synopsis was: One glance at the hot firefighter who responds to a misguided 911 call and Penelope Denning knows she's out of her depth. Leo Montesano is a charmer with an exciting career. She's an accountant focused on getting her son through his teenage years. Yet Leo is definitely pursuing her. How can she possibly resist?
> 
> As the attraction between them ignites, Penelope discovers a wild side she never knew. The passion makes her think about a future beyond this affair…until her real life interrupts. And when she's convinced she must choose her son over romance, Leo does something she never expects!

__

“Hey mom. I start school tomorrow… Ninth grade. High school. I know, can you believe it? I… I wish you were here to take cheesy pictures and stuff. Dad said he will but it’s not the same.” A fine mist of rain dusted his hair and eyelashes as Ben stood in front of his mother’s grave. Dean stood a little way back, giving his son what privacy he could. It was a tradition Dean wished he’d never needed to start, visiting Lisa’s tombstone on the last day of summer vacation. Sometimes Dean stood next to Ben, sometimes, like this time, he gave the young man privacy.

His ex-wife’s death had hit their son hardest, of course, but Dean wasn’t immune. The passing of time hadn’t really made it easier, just less immediate. These visits seemed to give Ben closure, though, so Dean certainly wasn’t complaining.

The teenager talked for a few more minutes, telling his mother about his soccer tournament that morning, and how he was looking forward to starting the school team in the fall. When he’d talked himself out, he returned to Dean’s side with shoulders hunched and his head bowed.

“C’mon, sport,” Dean said, giving Ben a big hug. The boy dropped his head on his father’s shoulder for a long moment. Dean hugged him tight, waiting until Ben pulled away before wrapping an arm around his son’s shoulders. “IHOP, yeah?”

That was the other part of their tradition, going to Lisa’s favorite restaurant. Sometimes they talked about her, sometimes they didn’t, but it always made them feel closer to her.

Ben nodded, letting his father guide him to the Impala and open the passenger door. The teen slid inside and hunched against the seat. Dean ached to be able to comfort him, but knew there really wasn’t much he could do. With a sigh, he headed to the driver’s side and slid inside.

It wasn’t far from the cemetery to the IHOP, which Dean thought was a benefit of living in a small town. He didn’t like marinating in dark thoughts too long. Their drive was quiet, as it always was, each of them wrapped up in private memories. 

They pulled into IHOP and Dean groaned. “Gonna be a long wait, buddy,” he said, nodding at the “Sioux Falls Fire Department” van sitting in the parking lot. “There’s like, ten of them in line.” He could see them through the doors but he wouldn’t suggest another venue. This was tradition, like it or not.

Dean led the way into the restaurant, and sure enough there was a line of men in SFFD sweatshirts filling the benches inside the door. Ben sidled close, letting Dean put an arm around his shoulders again. Generally he was ‘too old’ for that kind of thing, but days like these always left him a little vulnerable. The noise from the boisterous firemen was enough to make him quiet and contemplative again.

The men were polite, if a bit noisy, and Dean found his eyes drawn to one in particular. A bear of a man, he had a scruffy beard and a creole accent. That in itself was a rarity all the way up in South Dakota. His blue eyes and what seemed to be a wicked sense of humor were just as entrancing. If this were any other day, Dean might have screwed up his courage to talk to him. Today, though, was about his son, and when the waitress came and seated the rowdy bunch of firefighters, Dean put him from his mind.

“Yanno, your mom, health nut that she was sometimes, thought pancakes were the greatest invention ever.” Dean chuckled. Lisa had vacillated between health nut yoga teacher and absolute junk food addict. That had made for some interesting dinners, that was for sure.

“Yeah.” Ben was still looking at his shoes, but his words were more wistful than sad. “She loved the blueberry syrup here.” He glanced up at Dean. “Do you think she would have been excited about me joining soccer this year?”

Dean laughed incredulously. “Excited? Man, she would have gotten herself kicked out of the games because she was shouting too loud.” He grinned, glad to see Ben relaxing a little and nodding along.

“Yeah… You’re probably right.” He looked about to say more, when the hostess spoke up.

“Dean and Ben? I’ve got you right over here.”

Dean released Ben and nodded after her. “Go ahead,” he said.

Ben followed her, weaving between tables and toward a booth by the window. Dean’s attention was all on Ben as they walked, hardly even noticing when they passed the firefighters again.

They sat and each picked up a menu, Dean skimming his quickly and setting it down. It was more of a formality than anything else; he always ordered the chicken fried steak breakfast, over easy eggs with a side of pancakes. Ben was more of a wild card, but by the time the waitress appeared to take their drink orders, he was ready too.

“Hi! I’m Lilah, I’ll be taking care of you folks today, can I get you something to drink?”

“I’ll have a hot chocolate, and a water,” Ben said. “And to eat I’ll have the banana short stack, uh, hold the nuts, please, two eggs over-easy and a side of hash browns and sausage.”

The waitress chuckled. “Teenagers… You eat like my sons.” She shook her head and looked over at Dean. “And for you sir?”

“Ah, coffee, please. Chicken fried steak breakfast, eggs over easy.”

“Alright.” The waitress said, jotting it down quickly. “I’ll be right out with your drinks.”

She scooped up their menus and then headed back toward the kitchen, and Dean leaned back in the booth. “So, soccer season. Did they find a new assistant coach yet?”

Ben shook his head. “No… Miss Freeman said she could help out sometimes but the varsity team has a lot of games. I hope they find somebody soon. They said maybe we wouldn’t get to do as much if they only have one coach, because they have to focus on the varsity team.”

Dean frowned, scrunching his nose. “I’m sorry, buddy. You know if I knew anything about soccer I’d totally do it, right? I’m sure they’ll find somebody though, there’s a couple weeks before the season starts.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just frustrating.” Ben reached for his placemat, flipping it over to the blank side. Dean fished a pen out of his pocket and passed it across the table to his son who doodled a quick swirl on the paper, then passed pen and paper to his father.

“Oh, a hard one,” Dean said, taking a moment before deftly turning the swirl into a cartoony looking squirrel. He followed it up with another little doodle before passing them back to Ben. A cat, a shark, and a car followed suit before the waitress was back with drinks and food.

“Alright, I’ve got a chicken fried steak, eggs over easy?” She set it down along with the side of pancakes when Dean gestured, and then set Ben’s pancakes down in front of him. “Can I get you boys anything else?”

“No, I think we’re good,” Dean said, shaking his head as she set down his coffee and Ben’s hot chocolate.

“Alright, well just flag me down if you need me,” she said before sauntering away.

Ben cut into his pancakes, his mood a little more thoughtful again. “Thanks, Dad,” he said. “Y’know, for…” He gestured to the room with his fork.

Dean understood, and knocked his boots against Ben’s under the table. “Any time, kiddo. Any time.”


	2. Chapter 2

Dean startled, banging his head off the hood of the Tahoe he was working in when he heard the blare of the fire alarm. “Shit!” He snarled, dropping his wrench into his toolbox and rubbing the top of his head. “Hey, guys, what the hell’s on fire?”

All the other mechanics were filing out into the driveway, most of them shaking their heads. The wail of sirens could be heard coming down the street, and Dean thanked his lucky stars that he was just a few blocks away from the firehouse.

“Sorry, boss,” one of the guys, Mike, said as he came from the main office. “I was restarting the popcorn machine and I think I overheated the oil. It flared and set off the alarm. It’s out and everything but the alarm’s on an automated system. They called the squad and they’ll be here to turn it off in a minute.”

Dean sighed, shaking his head. “Well at least it’s not serious. Thanks, Mike.” The wail of the sirens drew closer, and then the truck pulled in at the curb. Dean headed over right away, nodding to the first man off the truck. “Hey. Sorry about this… We’re all cool inside. Popcorn machine malfunction.”

He trailed off as he got a good look at the guy. Something about his blue eyes and easy smile niggled at the back of his brain, but he wasn’t sure from where.

“Ah, good to know, brotha. We’ll get in there and shut it off, get you all good to get back to work.”

The creole accent made Dean’s stomach flip, and the memory of where he’d heard that voice before rolled in. IHOP, with Ben, nearly a month before. “Uh, thanks.” He said, suddenly a little tongue tied. The guy was just as hot now as he’d been then, and this time, Dean wasn’t knee deep in a Winchester Approved Chick Flick Moment.

Blue eyes grinned and clapped Dean on the arm. “Gimme one second,” he said, grabbing his helmet and striding across the parking lot. He donned his helmet before heading into the building. The other firefighters followed, fanning out to be sure the building was clear. The blaring alarm shut off just a few minutes later.

“Okay everyone!” Blue eyes shouted to be heard over the chatting of the mechanics as he emerged from the building. “All clear! You’re all welcome to get back to work.” He headed back to Dean, tucking his helmet under his arm.

“Alright, Mistah…” He trailed off expectantly, and Dean stuck out a hand.

“Winchester. Dean.” His name he could do, even if coming up with more sophisticated conversation seemed to be beyond him at the moment.

“Dean,” the firefighter repeated, shaking Dean’s hand firmly. “I’m Benny, and your fella was right, looks like no damage to the building. I’d probably toss that popcorn machine, though, it looked like it wouldn’t last as long as a fart in a whirlwind.”

Dean blinked. “I… Can’t say I’ve heard that one before,” he said with a chuckle.

Benny laughed, too, shaking his head. “Right, sorry. Sometimes I fo’get I’m not back home anymore. Looks like it’s had a pretty rough time of it, is all. Prob’ly better just to get a new one.”

“Oh, yeah, probably. We got that one second hand anyway. I knew it was just a matter of time.”

The firefighter smiled, patting Dean’s shoulder. “Well, no real loss then. Good on you for keepin’ your extinguishers up to date.”

Dean grinned. “Thanks. My dad always said that was one thing not to skimp on. Seems like the old man was right. So… Where’s back home?” Dean reached for anything to keep the conversation going. The accent said deep south somewhere, though ‘where’ was a good question.

“Nawlins. Been up here the last six years. What about you? Always lived in Sioux Falls?”

New Orleans? “That’s quite a haul to get up here. We’re from Kansas, but we moved up here when I was four. House fire. So, ah, pretty much my whole life.”

“Yeah?” Benny looked like he was about to say more, but he was cut off by one of the other firefighters, back in the truck already.

“Yo! Lafitte! We’re rollin’ out, get a move on!”

Benny hesitated. “Listen… Maybe this’ forward, and feel free to tell me no, but I’d love to get a drink sometime. Talk a little more.”

Dean flushed. No way was this happening. Blue eyed firefighters definitely don’t ask out boring mechanics on dates. “That, ah, that would be great.” Dean grinned, and fumbled in his pocket for his card. “Here,” he said, passing it over. “My cell number is on it.”

Benny took it with a grin, his fingers lingering on Dean’s as he grasped the card. “Sounds good, Cher,” he said, nodding once. “I’ll be in touch.”

“Hey! Lafitte! Quit flirting! We’ve got shit to do!”

Benny chuckled. “Duty calls,” he said with a farewell nod. “Have a good afternoon, Dean.”

“Ah… Yeah. You too,” Dean said, still just a little dazed. He watched as Benny walked off, shaking his head. Definitely not how he’d expected his afternoon to go. _Get back to work, Winchester,_ he told himself firmly, turning away from the departing truck. There was time enough for romance when he was off the clock.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So... Where you going tonight, dad?”

Ben sat at the kitchen table, his algebra homework spread out in front of him. He eyed his father teasingly, raising one eyebrow. “I know you’ve been texting someone all week.”

Dean looked up from the stove where he was fixing Ben’s dinner. Just because he _could_ cook for himself didn’t mean Dean passed up a chance to take care of his kid. “Just down to O’Malley’s,” he said, flipping the grilled cheese, leaving it golden brown and crispy. “It’s just drinks with a friend.”

“Uh huh.” Ben sounded decidedly unimpressed. “Who is it? Have I met them?” The teen smirked knowingly. His dad didn’t have too many friends, and Ben knew most of them. Dating, though? He didn't bring dates around. His dad never dated, and Ben knew he missed it. It was good to see him getting out! Even if that meant being purposely ignorant to his dad’s sex life, because, _eew_.

“No, you haven’t met them,” Dean said, sliding the sandwich onto a plate and then ladling out a bowl of tomato soup. “It’s just drinks, Ben.”

Ben’s stomach growled in anticipation. He still hadn’t figured out what his dad did to the soup to make it taste so good, but he _definitely_ knew that adding bacon and provolone to the grilled cheese elevated it practically to gourmet.

“Right. Because you _always_ make me grilled cheese in your black jeans and leather jacket.” The teenager sniggered, and shoved his math book out of the way so Dean could put the plate down. “C’mon, dad, I’m not a little kid anymore. You and mom were apart a long time, and she’s gone. You don’t have to pretend you’re not going on a date.”

Dean flushed faintly at the tips of his ears, and Ben’s smirk broadened. Score! “It’s none of your business, smart aleck,” Dean said as he carried the pan to the sink. “Now I expect you to do your homework and be in bed by eleven.” A little steam rose from the sink, and he glanced over his shoulder while it filled. “And you need to do a load of your laundry or you’re going to be out of clothes. I don’t wanna hear you bitchin’ because your jeans weren’t ready for school tomorrow.”

“I know dad,” Ben said with a put-upon sigh. “I’ll take care of it. And I’ll take the garbage out. I know the drill. Would you get out of here already?”

“All right, all right. Sue me for wanting to make sure you got dinner in you before I head out. Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Even though logically he knew that Ben would be _fine_ , Dean still hated to leave him alone.

“Dad, I’m _fourteen_ , and if I need anything, Uncle Sammy and Aunt Jess are home tonight, right? I’ll just call them, or go over there or whatever. Go. Have fun on your date.”

Dean swatted him gently on the back of the head, then ruffled his hair. “Right. Going, going. I shouldn’t be too late, midnight, tops. You _better_ be in bed by then.”

“I will!” Ben took another bite of his sandwich, and then shooed Dean out, speaking with his mouth full. “Go ha’f fun,” he said, grinning at the glare Dean shot him as he walked out of the kitchen. He was still grinning as he turned his attention back to his homework while the front door closed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean tamped down his nervousness as he pulled in at O’Malley’s. He hadn’t had a first date in a really long time, and all of Ben’s teasing aside, it would be nice to have some adult conversation. Sometimes it was rough, at home. He’d turn to tell Lisa something, but she wouldn’t be there. Even after the divorce they’d been pretty decent coparents; he’d dated a little but nothing serious, and in the five years since she’d been gone, he hadn’t dated at all.

He stepped out of the car and straightened his jacket. Parenting without a partner was hard, but it beat possibly having a partner that might hurt Ben. His son was worth it, but something about Benny was just so magnetic. Dean felt like maybe he’d found someone worth taking a risk on, even if he couldn’t quite explain why.

The bar was less a dive and more a restaurant; it was coolly lit for the early dinner crowd. He spotted Benny right away, sitting at a round table for two. The fireman waved him over, and Dean didn’t hesitate. “Hi,” he said, sliding into the other chair and leaning back.

“Hello, brotha’,” Benny said, beaming that grin that drew Dean’s eye the first time. He looked even better in the lights of the bar than he had at the shop, but maybe that was just the setting. “Good to see you.”

“You too.” Dean grinned. It had been too long since he’d sat across from a hot guy and just got to look. “Did you have an uneventful day?”

“Yeah, I’m off shift until Tuesday, so I’m just catchin’ up on things. Sleep, bills to pay, that sorta thing.” He leaned back in his chair, watching Dean with an intensity that he hadn’t had before. It sent a pleasant shiver up Dean’s spine, even if he knew he wouldn’t be doing anything about it that night. “You?”

“Ah, same old, same old,” Dean said with a shrug. “We got a custom restore job today, that was pretty cool. A ‘64 Buick Riviera. I haven’t seen one of those for a long time. I’m really lookin’ forward to it. I guess it was his dad’s car, been sittin’ in the shed for twenty five years.” He settled into the seat, relaxing as the familiar topic eased his nerves. “It’s gonna be a gorgeous car when we’re done.”

“Sounds like,” Benny agreed, leaning back in his own chair. “I can’t say I’d know one if I passed it, but I’m sure it’ll be great. If you’ve got pictures, I’d love to see them.”

The waitress appeared before Dean could answer, sliding menus in front of them. “Good evening, gentlemen,” she said, pulling the pad out of her pocket. “Can I start you with something to drink?”

“Uh, yeah,” Dean said, opening his menu but not looking at it yet. “Can I have a Black and Tan, draft please?”

“That sounds good,” Benny agreed. “I’ll have the same.” He waited until she departed before he stretched out just a little more, the tips of his boots touching Dean’s under the table. Dean’s ears turned a delightful shade of pink, barely discernable in the light of the bar. He waited just a moment before he pulled his feet back, satisfied.

“Do you come here often?” He asked Dean, glancing up at him after a moment of studying the menu. “I don’ eat out too often; usually I just eat at the firehouse.”

Dean chuckled. “I don’t eat out too often myself, but I’ve been here a few times. Mostly for burgers; their burgers are really good. The real star though? The onion rings.” He grinned, looking up at Benny again. “The onion rings are amazing.”

“Noted.” Benny’s grin broadened. “So what do you do with your spare time, Dean? I know you can’t work _all_ the time.” They’d been texting since Dean handed over his card, but topics had been mostly pop culture references and not-so-subtle flirting.

“Uh, well, I don’t have too many hobbies,” Dean admitted. This was usually the point he had lost dates when Lisa was still alive, before he’d given up on dating to focus on Ben. “My son takes up a lot of my time, actually. Sports practices, games, that kind of thing.”

“Oh?” Benny didn’t seem put off. “How old is he?”

The waitress was back, and Dean took a swallow of his beer as soon as she set it down. Benny was too good to be true, almost frighteningly so. He was grateful for the reprieve as she pulled out her pad again. “Are you fellas ready to order?”

Dean nodded. “Yeah, uhm, I’ll have the chipotle burger, fried jalapeno, pepper jack cheese. Medium. And onion rings, with the, the spicy sauce. That raspberry one?”

“Mmhm, okay, sure thing,” she agreed, then turned her attention to Benny. “And for you?”

“I’ll take me the buffalo bleu cheese burger, medium,” Benny said after a moment further consideration. “And the onion rings, as well. Thank you, cher.” He passed the menu back and sipped his beer, watching Dean again.

“He’s fourteen,” Dean said, grateful for the momentary distraction that had allowed him to gather himself. “He’s a good kid, really into soccer lately, really into science.” He took another swallow of his beer, forcing himself to relax a little bit. Benny was a good guy, and he didn’t want to fuck this up.

“Yeah? I’d like to meet him some time,” Benny said. He was smiling again, but it was gentler than it had been. “If it goes that far, I mean. You’re lucky to have your boy every day. I only get to see my Izzy every other weekend.”

Dean winced, tipping his beer at Benny in a small salute. “I can’t imagine that,” Dean said, shuddering at the thought. “Even when Lisa was alive, I saw Ben at least four days a week. And now, well… I don’t know what I’d do without him. Hardest thing I ever did was move out.” He huffed out a weak chuckle. “I really know how to liven up a date, huh?”

Benny reached across the table, squeezing Dean’s free hand. “No, Cher… I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to tell me. I just lost a marriage, not a wife.” He shook his head. “Only seeing her twice a month, Izzy and make the most of our time t’gether.” He took a swig of his beer, rubbing his boot firmly against Dean’s under the table again. “But maybe we can talk about happier things, yeah? Let’s see…”

His foot slid just a little up Dean’s ankle before dropping back down to the floor. “No politics on a first date, I want a second one.” He grinned teasingly. “There’s always sports… The weather…”

Dean flushed at the endearment and laughed, the tension of a moment before broken. He nudged Benny’s foot back. “The weather, huh? You sure know how to show a guy a good time.” He realized that Benny still held his hand, and flushed darker. “How about favorite comic book?”

“Ooh, right for the gut,” Benny said with a laugh. “I’ve always been a fan of the X-men… ‘Specially Gambit.”

“You just like that he’s from Louisiana,” Dean accused playfully, regretfully pulling away from Benny as the waitress arrived with their burgers.

“What? You wound me, Cher,” Benny said, still chuckling. “Of course, that’s _part_ , but really… Bad boy, seeking redemption? He’s always spoken to me. What about you?”

“Ah, I’m a little more traditional. Spiderman.” He grinned. “Dad always used his line…” He straightened his back and took on a comically chastising voice. “With great power comes great responsibility, Dean… Remember that.” He chuckled. “He thought he was so hip.”

“Sounds like,” Benny agreed, grinning. He lifted his burger, admiring how sauce dripped back onto the plate as they did. “They don’ mess aroun’ down here, do they?”

“No,” Dean said, electing to first dip a crunchy onion ring in the spicy sweet sauce he’d asked for. “Mm…” He licked his lips and pushed the bowl of sauce toward Benny’s side of the table. “Try it,” he urged after he’d swallowed.

Benny obligingly dipped one of his own rings in the sauce, taking a bite without hesitance. “Mmmm,” he said, nodding. “You’re right. That’s delicious.” He licked his lips to get a drop of sauce that had escaped.

Dean’s eyes followed Benny’s tongue. Damn. Sometimes he wished he put out on the first date.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean flipped over the box of pancake mix, reading the ingredients carefully. It didn’t matter how many times he’d bought Bisquick, he still had to check for allergens. He’d gotten the habit when Ben was diagnosed at age six, and he’d only gotten better. He was reassured to see, once again, that it contained no peanuts or tree nuts. He tossed the box into the cart and then turned to his son. “What else do you want?”

“Can we get bacon?” Ben nudged his father’s cart with his hip, hopeful.

“Sure,” Dean agreed, chuckling. He turned toward the dairy and meat, and Ben looked over at his father, a familiar grin on his face.

“So, have a good date last night?” He crowed internally when he saw the tips of his dad’s ears turn red. Dean was always so easy to read, it made it lots of fun to push his buttons.

“Not that it’s _any_ of your business,” Dean said, aiming for sarcastic but just coming off a little annoyed. “But yes, I did have a nice time.”

Ben darted forward to the refrigerated unit holding the bacon, grabbing a package and tossing it in the already full cart. “Well? Do I get to meet them? What’s their name?” He didn’t ask the question he _really_ wanted to know: guy or girl? He knew his dad went both ways, had since he was old enough to understand what dating was. Dean had never dated much, but a few times he’d mentioned something to Lisa as he dropped Ben off at home, about a date to see a Joe or a Tina.

Dean looked a little startled. “Do you really want to?” Honestly, he hadn’t let himself get that far; not to think about what might happen if he and Benny got serious enough to consider meeting each other’s children.

Ben looked a little confused. “Well, yeah? I mean, if you’re gonna date someone, I’m gonna have to meet them _eventually_ , right?” He looked up at his father, a small frown on his face. “You _can_ date, dad. I really don’t mind.”

Dean nudged him with one elbow. “Hey, can it with the chick flick stuff, kid,” he said with a small chuckle. “But, uh, thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” He guided them toward the check outs. “So I was thinking meatloaf for dinner… What do you think?”

“Oh, with the sriracha ketchup?” Ben grinned, his teasing momentarily forgotten. “That sounds awesome. Oh, hey, so how about Mister Killian, the varsity assistant coach, got some guys from the community college to come and run our practices. They can only come once a week, but at least we get _something_.”

“That’s great, Ben!” Dean said as he put ground beef into the cart and then turned toward the baking aisle for the breadcrumbs. “Well I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Ben said, tossing a can of ‘sun butter’ into the cart as they passed it. “So are you going out with them again?”

“Woah, way to change the topic, dude,” Dean said, shaking his head. “Yes. Okay? Probaby. And no, you aren’t meeting anyone. Not yet. Chill out.” He put the bread crumbs in the cart and turned toward the check out. 

“So do you know when you're gonna see them again?" He tossed it out casually, curious.

"Friday, he's not off until then... Hey! Little sneak." It was said not entirely unfondly.

Ben grinned victoriously. So his dad _was_ seeing the guy again, _and_ now he knew it was a guy! Ben knew the meeting was inevitable and only a little while away, if he had anything to say about it.

"Like father, like son," he retorted, entirely unrepentant.

"Yeah, yeah," Dean said, reaching to ruffle Ben's hair, earning himself an indignant squawk. "Whatever. Come on, let's get checked out and get dinner started."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean looked dubiously at the door of the restaurant where he was meeting Benny. _Let’s Roll!_ was the only sushi restaurant in town, and Dean generally avoided any place that had things on the menu that he couldn’t pronounce. Benny had sounded really excited to take Dean there, though, and he’d found himself helpless in the face of the earnest request.

He straightened his shirt and stepped out of his car; a moment later, a motorcycle roared in beside him. He startled briefly, and then his breath caught as the rider pulled off his helmet. Damn. It was _unfair_ that Benny could somehow get _hotter_. “Well hey there,” he said, leaning on Baby’s side as he watched Benny stow his helmet in his saddle bag.

“Hey darlin’,” Benny said, an easy grin on his face. “Ready for dinner?”

Dean chuckled. Benny really liked endearments; he’d learned that through their texts. That didn’t mean he didn’t have to fight not to blush when he heard them spoken in that smooth creole accent. “I guess. But if I can’t find anything to eat in here, you owe me a burger,” he said with a shrug.

He couldn’t pull his eyes off of Benny, his leather jacket hanging open and loose, his cheeks reddened from the wind. Dean’s mind was short circuiting, but he came to himself when Benny got close, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him in for a quick hug.

“I promise you’ll like it, Cher,” Benny said as he released Dean and held the door open. “They’ve got plenty of cooked things, if you’re spooked by the raw fish.” He ushered Dean inside and flashed two fingers to the hostess, who took up two menus and guided them to a small table toward the back.

Benny shed his jacket and hung it on the back of his chair before sliding in. Dean looked up from hanging his own jacket and his mouth went dry. Benny's blue shirt was rolled up to his elbows, showcasing brilliant colors up each forearm that disappeared under the sleeves. "Oh, wow... You never mentioned you had tattoos," Dean said after clearing his throat.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah." Benny grinned, holding his arms up for inspection. "A buddy o' mine in Nawlins was an artist. I let him practice on me when he was first startin' out, an' when he got good, he did these." He chuckled. "The ones on mah legs aren't neahly as good as these."

Dean reached out, taking Benny's hand to turn his arm side to side so he could see the tattoos in more detail. "Dude, is that a kraken?" He traced the tentacle up toward Benny's elbow, where he could see the bottom of a pirate ship just peeking under his sleeve. Benny shifted a little under Dean's questing touch, and Dean flushed, letting him go abruptly. "Sorry."

"Don' worry about it, sugah," he said, still grinning. "I'm just a li'l ticklish, that's all." He picked up his menu, but didn't open it yet. "This one," he said, holding up the arm Dean had been investigating, "is pirates. So it _is_ a kraken. The other one," he held up the arm Dean hadn't seen as much of, "is vampires." He chuckled. "A li'l juvenile, maybe, but I love 'em."

"They're pretty cool," Dean agreed. "My dad always said that only convicts and sailors have tattoos... I'm pretty sure he would have shot me if I'd ever come home with one. Always thought they were pretty cool, though." He shrugged as he picked up his own menu. "I'm too old for one now, though."

Benny snorted derisively. "What? Naw. You're nevah too old, if that's what you're wantin'." He shook his head. "I jus' got anotha one a year or two ago." He opened up his menu, and nudged Dean's foot under the table. "If it's somethin' you're wantin', go for it. Life's too short, brotha."

"Yeah, I guess," Dean said, though privately he thought that would never be something he'd be brave enough to do. Way too permanent. "Okay. So what the heck am I lookin' at here?" He opened his own menu and shook his head. California roll? Rainbow roll? "What the hell's masago?"

Benny laughed at Dean's bafflement. "Fish eggs," he said, laughing harder at the look on Dean's face. "I promise, it's not as bad as it sounds. Actually, it's real good. But if you're not lookin' for raw stuff, go for the Philly roll, or any of the tempura rolls."

"Right." He glanced at the menu; it recommended some combinations, and he quickly decided he'd try the shrimp, lobster and crab tempura rolls. "I'll try the tempura," he said finally. " They sound pretty safe." 

Benny had already closed his menu, and smiled at Dean when he looked up questioningly.  
"I'm getting a combination plate," he explained. "You can share, if you get adventurous."

"Har har." Dean shook his head. "The only raw stuff I eat are veggies, and that's only because my brother thinks I'm a rabbit and keeps droppin' off salads."

Benny's grin was broader now. "Yeah? He lives nearby?"

"Yeah, he and his wife Jess live down the street from me, actually. After Lisa, ah, after Lisa passed, and I was working out how to be a single dad, they moved down from California." He shook his head, still floored at his little brother and sister-in-law's generosity. "Jess works from home, so when Ben was littler, she'd keep him after school."

For the second time in two dates, Benny reached across the table and took Dean's hand. "I'm sorry, Cher," he said gently. "That must have been hard. But it's good that your family was here for you."

Dean nodded and smiled. "Thanks. We'd been divorced for a while by that point, but... It was still hard. For me, and for Ben. It's been a few years now, not so fresh, you know?"

Benny squeezed Dean's fingers. "Still hard," he said gently. Before he could say more, the waitress appeared with a steaming pot of tea and two glasses of water.

"Ready to order?" She looked to Benny, who nodded.

"Yeah, uh, we'll have the twenty piece assortment, with tuna, eel, salmon and crab. And can we have the tempura shrimp, lobster and crab rolls too, please? Two of each."

She nodded, noting them down quickly, and then smiled. "Be out soon."

Benny carefully poured the tea into two of the small teacups, and added a pack of sugar to his. "Better when it's a little sweet," he explained.

Dean followed suit, glad for the distraction from the darker tone their conversation had taken. _Way to make a good second date impression_ , he thought sourly.

Benny didn't seem to mind, though, sipping his tea and straightening up a little. "So, you said your boy plays soccer? I played in college, always followed it a little bit." He grinned. "Much more manly than football."

Dean laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah. It's his first year, but he's watched since he was little. His mom's dad was from Mexico, they're real big on it down there. Right now he's just worried they won't be able to practice enough to make the JV team any good, since they only have some interim coaches from the community college."

"Oh, yeah... That can be rough." Benny shook his head. "I'd love to get into it again, but none of the boys at the station will play with me. I was a hell of a goalie, once upon a time."

"I can see it," Dean agreed, looking up when the waitress returned with a large plate of sushi, that she sat between them on the table. Dean could tell which pieces were obviously Benny's. They had big, raw looking pieces of fish on top, and Dean wrinkled his nose.

The waitress handed them each a pair of chopsticks and smiled. "Enjoy," she said, nodding and turning away.

Benny pulled his chopsticks out, and smiled at Dean. "Alright. Those pieces are yours." He indicated the ones with little fried bits on top or in the middle. "This is wasabi... Kind of a killer horseradish. You can mix it with soy sauce if you want just a little kick. This pink stuff is ginger. You're supposed to chew a little piece of it to clear your palate in between pieces."

"This is sounding more and more like a procedure. Not a meal. And I think I need a fork; man was not meant to eat with sticks."

Benny made a faux scandalized sound. "You can't eat sushi with a fork, Cher," he said. "Look; chopsticks aren't so hard. " He demonstrated how to hold them, one steady like a pencil and the other one pinched and manipulated. "See?"

Dean fumbled with them for a moment, flustered, but then Benny reached across the table, adjusting his hold.

"Better?"

Dean flushed. "Uh, yeah. " There was something more intimate about that than the hand holding earlier, and while slightly embarrassed, Dean didn't really mind. It was... nice.

Benny grinned. "Good. Well then, let's eat." He broke off a piece of wasabi, setting it on his little sauce dish to mix with soy sauce. Then he chose a piece of sushi, dabbing it carefully in the mix before putting it in his mouth. He watched Dean fumble slightly as he copied the procedure, picking one of his own pieces. He chewed a little more tentatively than Benny, but had to nod. "Alright," he said when he swallowed. "You're right. That was pretty good."

Benny grinned. "I thought you might say that, cher." They ate in silence for a few more minutes, but Benny noted how Dean kept looking at the other sushi contemplatively. "Would you like to try one, Cher?" Benny lifted one of the pieces with a smallish piece of fish on top. "Tuna's a pretty good one for a first time, not too fishy."

"Uh... Sure. Why not." Dean looked at the sushi, trying to figure out how he'd take the chopsticks from Benny without dropping it. Benny dipped it into the dish of soy sauce in front of him with a wicked grin.

"Open up," he urged, holding out the now brown bottomed rice ball. Dean flushed deeply, but opened his mouth obediently, and Benny leaned across to slide it between his lips.

The texture was strange, not quite chewy, not quite slimy, but... Tolerable. The sharp, spicy flavor of the wasabi was dulled a little by the salty tang of the soy sauce. He swallowed, and nodded, licking his lips. "Not bad," he said.

Benny's grin didn't falter, and he rubbed Dean's foot with his own. "Mmm, thought you'd say that." He agreed. He loved the color in Dean's cheeks, the bright red blush. Dean wore his heart on his sleeve, and Benny took heart, because he was already falling head over heels for the snarky mechanic, and sometimes he thought Dean felt the same.

Dean kicked Benny under the table gently. "Hey," he said, laughing. "Gloating isn't cool, man." He took his own chopsticks, picking up another piece of the tempura sushi. He chewed contemplatively for a moment before sobering a little.

"Ben wants to meet you. I... I'm not so sure." He stared down at his plate for a second, before forcing himself to look up at Benny. "I've never introduced him to anyone before, and it seems really... Really sudden."

Benny nodded. "I understand, cher," he agreed. The words had hurt in the moment, but he _did_ understand. "I mean, I know I enjoy your company, an' I hope you enjoy mine, but I don't introduce Izzy to jus' anyone, either. I can wait as long as you need to feel comfortable." He smiled. "I'm sure he's a great kid, an' I don't blame you for wanting to protect him."

Dean huffed out a laugh, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. "Yeah. I do. I mean, he's a teenager, and he's getting older, but I guess I'll always be his daddy, you know? But..." This time it was _Dean_ who reached across the table to take Benny's fingers. "Maybe this is a lot for a second date, but I'd like that. Soon. I don't know now, but, soon. He's a good kid, and I think you'd really hit it off."

Benny smiled warmly, squeezing Dean's hand back. "Well, you just say the word, cher, and I'm there," he agreed. "I look forward to it, whenever you're ready."

Dean nodded, releasing Benny's hand so he could take a sip of his water. "Thanks," he said earnestly. _Damn. There's gotta be a catch,_ Dean thought, as the conversation started back up in a lighter direction. _This guy's just too damn good to be true._


	4. Chapter 4

“Whoo! Go Ben!” Dean cheered from the sidelines of Ben’s first game. The team hadn’t won, but Ben had played hard, and came off the field sweating and grinning. Sam and Jess, sitting next to him, were grinning and shouting too. They followed Dean down to the edge of the field where the teams were streaming out.

“Oh man, that was awesome!” Ben said, letting Dean pull him into a one armed hug. Dean passed him a gatorade and ruffled his hair, laughing as Ben shoved him away awkwardly. "Dad, stop it!"

"You did great, kiddo," Dean said, a proud smile still on his face. "I mean, really great. Way to hustle out there."

"You sure did," Sam said, patting Ben's shoulder. "You did an awesome job."

Ben grinned up at his uncle, then gulped the gatorade, heading over with the rest of the team to get his bag and change his cleats for regular shoes. "Thanks, guys. Couldn't tell we only got like, five practices, huh?"

Dean shook his head. "Nah. You guys need a little more polish, but I think you've got what it takes." He held his son's gatorade as he changed his shoes, and then shouldered the bag. "Whadda ya say to a victory dinner? Maybe IHOP?"

Ben nodded. "That sounds great," he agreed, taking another swig of the gatorade and heading toward the car.

"Wanna come with, Sammy?" Dean let Ben lead the way across the parking lot to where Baby was parked next to Sam and Jess' Prius.

"Yeah, wouldn't miss it," Sam said, unlocking his car and opening the door for Jess. "We'll meet you guys over there."

Dean tossed the duffel in the trunk while Ben slid into the front seat, and then Dean joined him and started the car. "Right, here we go, time for pancakes." Dean backed the car out, patting Ben's shoulder. Ben took another gulp of the gatorade, still grinning.

"Good. Do they still have that never-ending pancake plate? Because I could eat like, ten."

Dean laughed. "You're a bottomless pit, kid," he said, shaking his head fondly.

“You’re one to talk,” Ben retorted. “Didn’t you eat like, three short stacks last time they had that deal?”

Dean nudged him, laughing. “I guess that’s true. You still put it away, though,” he teased.  
The drive to IHOP wasn't long, but by the time they'd pulled in, Ben was breathing more evenly, the game’s exertion worn off. 

"Man, I'm hungry." He shoved the door open, piling out as quickly as he could, his gatorade forgotten on the seat.

"Hey, hey, easy!" Dean said, placing a gentle hand on Baby's side. "She's way older than you. Be gentle with her!"

Ben shot him a look as he headed inside. "Yeah, dad, I know... Come _on_ , I'm _hungry!_ "

Dean rolled his eyes, but closed his door more gently and followed Ben into the restaurant. Sam and Jess were already inside, waiting at the podium, and the hostess greeted them as they walked in. "Hi Dean, Ben," she said, waving. "Four for you folks tonight?"

"Yeah, please," Dean said, wrapping an arm around Ben and letting her guide them toward their usual table. Jess and Sam slid into seats on one side, Ben and Dean on the other.

"So did dad tell you about his new boyfriend?" Ben asked, and Sam slammed his menu down on the table.

"What?"

Ben grinned as Dean's flustered blush spread across his cheeks. "Benjamin James Winchester," he started, but Sam, _damn_ him, shook his head.

"No no, I wanna hear about this new boyfriend. What's he like, Ben?"

"Dad won't let me meet him yet," Ben said mournfully. "But he's like, _always_ texting him, and they've gone on a couple dates."

"Ooh. Dean, why don't you tell me anything anymore?" Sam rounded on his brother with a bright, teasing grin.

"Because you always pick on me, bitch," Dean said, kicking Sam under the table.

"Hey, young ears, jerk," Sam said with a laugh, shaking his head and picking his menu back up."Seriously, though, that's great. You've been alone too long."

Jess smiled, placing a gentle hand on her husband's wrist. "It's good to see you getting out, Dean," she agreed. "You deserve it."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks, guys." Dean flushed, and shot a look at Ben. "And this doesn't mean you get to meet him sooner, either. You can meet when I'm ready, and not before."

Ben wrinkled his nose, shaking his head. "Yeah, yeah, whatever dad."

"Can I take your orders, folks?"

Dean was relieved at the waiter's timely appearance; it seemed like way too often lately he was being saved by waitstaff. _I really oughta be leaving better tips,_ he thought wryly to himself.

Ben nodded. "I'll take the never ending stack, chocolate chip, with a side of bacon and two fried eggs, with chocolate milk, please?"

"I'll do the chicken fried steak, side of buttermilk pancakes, coffee and a water, thanks," Dean said, folding his menu and stacking it with Ben's.

"I'll have the spinach omelet, side of hashbrowns, uh, coffee and a water too, thanks." Sam passed the waitress his menu, grinning at Dean as his brother pulled a face at his choice of brunch.

"I think I'll just have the strawberry banana shortstack," Jess said after a final moment of deliberation. "And a side of sausage links. Just a water to drink, thanks." She smiled, settling her hand on her swollen stomach and looking to Dean as the waitress walked away. "Living without coffee has been the hardest part of this whole thing."

"Yeah, I bet." Dean grinned, glad the focus was off of him for the moment. "I can't imagine giving up coffee for nine months." He leaned back in his chair a little. "So have you guys decided on a name yet?"

"Well, we're still a little stuck," Jess admitted. "A girl is easy; Mary Elisabeth, for both of our mothers. But for a boy... I want Samuel Junior, but Sam says he doesn't."

"Too much pressure for a kid!" Sam said, shaking his head. "No way. I want him to have his own identity. Uh. If it is a him. We've asked them to keep it a secret. But he deserves to be himself, not drag around Samuel John Winchester Jr. for his whole life."

Dean laughed. "Trust you to get all fixated on that stuff. Well, I'm sure it'll work itself out. Maybe the kid'll look like a Timmy or something? Who knows."

"What about Harry?" Ben piped up with a grin. "Ooh, or Draco! I'd love to have a cousin named Draco!"

Sam burst out laughing. "Uh, thanks, but no thanks, Ben," he said.

Ben stuck out his tongue with a grin. "So sue me for being well read," he teased.

The waiter reappeared,setting down the round of drinks. "Your food will be up real soon."

"Thanks," Dean said with a nod, taking a swig of coffee.

"Uncle Sammy, tell dad I should be able to meet his boyfriend." He took a swallow of his milk, grinning as his dad choked on his mouthful of coffee.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Vintage Motorcycle Road Show!** Dean parked Baby in the first spot he could find. Finally, a date he felt comfortable at! He stepped out of the car and crossed the parking lot as quickly as he could, not surprised to find Benny waiting for him at the gate. The bigger man pulled him in close right away, and Dean inhaled the smell of him, smoky and sharp. He liked it. The hug was a little more earnest than before, surprisingly solid. Dean smiled, relaxed and happy as he pulled away.

"Hey, Benny, good to see you," Dean said, reluctant to pull too far away. It was surprising, how much he wanted to touch Benny. He hadn't wanted to be this close to anyone else he'd dated in a long time. Maybe it was because Ben kept teasing him, but, well, he wanted this.

"You too, brotha," Benny said, the warm smile on his face twisting Dean's stomach in knots. He hadn't fallen for someone this fast since Lisa, and it was more than a little intimidating. Benny clapped him on the back, but as Dean stepped out of his arms, he let them drop to his sides. "So what's on the plan for tonight?"

"Well, there's supposed to be some kickass vintage Harleys," Dean said, briefly taking Benny's hand as he drew the other man into the line. He didn't know Benny's opinon on PDA, though, so he let go as they stepped behind another couple.

"Yeah?" Benny sounded just as excited as Dean was about it. The wicked grin that went straight to Dean's dick split his lips. Damn, he was hot.

"Yeah, nothing like a gorgeous cycle," Dean enthused, trying, and failing, not to stare at Benny's mouth. It was _distracting_. That scruff looked like it would leave just the right kind of beard burn. Three dates was longer than he usually waited for kissing, but he couldn't help feeling that Benny was different. He wanted Benny. Not just for a fuck, or for a few dates. The more time he spent with him, the more he knew he wanted Sunday morning pancakes. Tuesday two AM call outs. Saturday movie nights. He wanted it _all_ , and the sheer depth of it caught him off guard.

Benny startled him out of his thoughts, bumping his shoulder as the line moved forward. "Everything alright, Cher?"

The nickname brought a blush to Dean's face, but this time he refused to let it sidetrack him.

"Yeah, I'm great," he responded, and boldly reached to take Benny's hand again. He was on a date, damn it! He could hold hands if he wanted to! He didn't let himself think about what would happen if Benny pulled away. Dean was comfortable with who he was, and he didn't want to consider a partner who wasn't.

Benny didn't pull away. Actually, he looked pretty damn pleased. He squeezed Dean's fingers as they got closer to the admission booth. "Good," he said, and it looked like he was talking about more than Dean's thoughts.

They got to the booth and Dean released Benny's hand. "This one's on me," he said, shooting a mock glare at Benny. It was ruined by the fact that he was grinning like crazy. "You got the last two."

Benny held up his hands in surrender. "Fair 'nuff, Cher," he said, chuckling. "I make no promises about lettin' you buy all the junk food, though. I'm a sucker for funnel cakes."

Dean laughed, passing over the forty dollars for their tickets and taking the two red wrist bands from the bored teenager behind the desk. He took Benny's hand again to draw him aside and put them on. "Well, I can't blame you," he said with a grin. "Funnel cakes are awesome."

He lingered for just a second as he fastened the sticky tape. Benny didn't hesitate to return the favor, taking Dean's hand again as soon as it was on. Dean's mouth went dry, and he firmly reminded himself that he did _not_ need to behave like a teenage girl just because a hot guy was holding his hand.

"Come on, Cher," Benny said as he tugged Dean toward the entry. "Let's go see what there is to see."

Dean let Benny lead the way, more interested in watching his ass than the motorcycles they'd come to see. "So Ben really wants to meet you," he said, after they'd wandered up and down several rows of bikes.

"Yeah?" Benny kept his voice carefully neutral. He wanted to meet Dean's son. He knew how much the boy meant to Dean, and really, he wanted to know everything about Dean. He wouldn't push, though. If they were going to get anywhere, it was going to be with Dean taking his time to feel okay with it.

"Yeah. I... I don't know." He sighed, squeezing Benny's hand. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want that. You're awesome, Benny, and I really like spending time with you. But." There was always a but. "But Ben has to come first, and it's a really big deal." Damn it... This felt like a chick flick moment. At a motorcycle show! There oughta be some kind of law against that shit.

Benny just chuckled, though, and nodded. "I get it, Cher," he agreed. "It's a big step. You take as long as you need; I won't be offended. Honestly? It'll prob'ly be a little longer before I feel comfortable introducing you to Izzy. I wouldn't wanna get her hopes up... She's too little to understand."

Dean almost felt dizzy when the implication of Benny's words struck him. He was thinking long term, too. Hopes, that Ben and Dean and Benny and Izzy could be their own kind of family one day. "Right," he agreed. "I... I'm thinking about it. Just. Thought you should know."

Benny grinned, squeezing Dean's hand back. "Well, thank you, darlin'," he said. "I 'preciate that." He paused, and then turned toward a long line of people. "Funnel cakes! Don't think you're gettin' out of that one, Winchester. A man has needs!"

Dean laughed, the tense moment broken, and he nodded. "Right, funnel cakes. Let's do it."

They spent the rest of the afternoon wandering, laughing and talking. It felt like the pressure was off, and everything out in the open. Dean hadn't realized how much he was worried about it, until he wasn't anymore. By the time they walked back to the parking lot, they'd shared two funnel cakes and two orders of fries. Full and happy, they walked a meandering walk out of the gates. Benny followed Dean back to his car, seemingly reluctant to let Dean go.

"So, ah, this is me," Dean said lamely, smiling a little.

"Yeah," Benny said. His eyes were firmly fixed on Dean's lips, and Dean flushed. "You've got a little sugah," he said, lifting one of his hands to touch Dean's cheek, right on the corner of his mouth. Dean darted out his tongue, tasting sweet.

"Did I get it?"

Benny grinned predatorily. "Almost. Let me help, Cher," he said, before leaning in and kissing Dean thoroughly. Dean groaned into the kiss, his hands coming up to grip Benny's broad shoulders tightly.

The scruff rubbed his cheeks just right, prickly and perfect. Benny was still grinning when they broke apart, flushed and panting a little bit. "You said your boy was at his uncles for the weekend?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah. Until tomorrow night." That one kiss seemed to have short circuited his brain, because it took entirely too long to put the pieces together. Benny leaning in for another quick peck didn't help. "You, ah, have plans later?"

Benny slid his hand across the nape of Dean's neck, rubbing firmly with one big thumb. Dean shivered. You know what they say about guys with big hands. "Well." He grinned. "I was thinkin' maybe dinner at my place... Maybe... a little more?" He pressed a thigh between Dean's legs, and Dean was grateful for Baby behind him, holding him up. "If yah wanted, sugah."

Dean nodded, trying to force his brain into some kind of coherency. "Yeah. I... That sounds great." It sounded more than great. It sounded perfect. And then Benny pulled back, and he felt bereft. Damn. That man was _so_ unfair.

"Mm. I thought so too." He chuckled. "I took the bus over. Call me hopeful. Wanna gimme a ride?"

"Oh, oh, yeah, sure." Dean licked his lips, chasing the last tastes of sugar and Benny, before he pulled the keys out of his pocket. "You'll have to gimme directions."

"I can do that, Cher," Benny said, pulling back and walking around to the other side of the car. Dean took a moment to compose himself, and to tell his dick firmly to behave. He finally pulled his door open and slid in, and then promptly forgot himself and leaned over to kiss Benny once, quickly.

"Right, okay, where to?"

Benny grinned, leaning back in the seat. “Take a left outta here, right at the second light.”

Dean’s free hand started the car, then slid across to Benny’s thigh as he pulled out. Oh yeah. He was glad Ben was out of the house for the weekend.


	5. Chapter 5

Dean settled gingerly at Benny's little table, nestled in the corner of his equally tiny kitchen. The hard chair reminded him of their extravagance of the night before. It was great. He grinned as he watched his boyfriend move around the space. He'd offered to help, but Benny had laughed and ushered him to the chair.

"No space in the kitchen for two cooks, Cher." He'd explained. "'Sides, how else am I supposed t' woo you with my cookin', if you're helpin'?"

So Dean sat, and admired the view, still grinning. The night before had been the best first time Dean had had in a long time. Benny was an enthusiastic, attentive lover, and Dean was sore in all the best ways. "So, ah, I've been thinkin'," Dean said as he watched Benny move around the kitchen in a pair of loose flannel pants and nothing else. It was hard to keep his train of thought when exposed with all that skin, lightly furred and begging to be touched again. Here and there he saw warm red tooth marks, and bruises that he'd left on Benny when he'd gotten a little... over excited.

"Yes, Cher?" Benny prompted when he trailed off. He flipped their eggs, and Dean flushed when he realized he'd been caught staring. He started talking again when Benny went to put some bread in the toaster.

"Right. Uh, so I was thinkin', I've got tickets to the soccer game next Friday. I thought you might like to come with Ben and me?"

There was a moment of silence from Benny, when Dean thought he might have stepped too far. They'd been so circumspect about meeting the kids, he didn't want Benny to be put off. But then the toaster popped, and he turned and set a full plate in front of Dean, piled with scrambled eggs. "I'd love that, Cher," he said earnestly. He pulled the toast from the toaster and piled it on its own plate, adding butter and jam to the table before he joined Dean with his own plate of eggs. "I'm honored that you'd like to introduce me to your boy."

Dean smiled, picking up a forkful of eggs and shoveling it into his mouth. "Well, he really wants to meet you," he explained after he swallowed, squeezing Benny's hand across the table. "And I... I'd really like him to meet you, too." Saturday morning scrambled eggs. He could live with that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben pushed his last math worksheet into his folder so he could start to clear the table when his dad opened the fridge to start dinner. "So how was your weekend?" Dean asked, glancing over.

He grabbed his books and started shoving them into his backpack. Uncle Sammy was really cool, but when he had long weekends like that, and didn't see his dad, well... It was weird. Really weird.  
"It was good. Uncle Sammy just got some new kind of GPS thing, we went on this _epic_ cacheing hike." He grinned and hiked his backpack over his shoulder. "Did you have a good date this weekend?"

"Yeah, I did." Dean shook his head. "Nosy brat." He grinned fondly at his son and reached for his big pan to start cooking the pork chops. "So, listen... I have tickets for the soccer game next weekend, downtown. I thought maybe Benny could come with us. He doesn't have to if you don't want him to, but I thought it would be nice, maybe."

Ben dropped the backpack with a thump. 'What? You mean you're finally gonna let me meet him?" His eyes were wide, but he was grinning. "Of course I want to! I mean, I've only been bugging you about it for weeks..." He shook his head. "So I guess this means you're getting serious, huh?"

Dean laughed a little. "You know... I don't know." He put the first pork chop in the pan, watching it sizzle for a second before he added the second one. "Would you be okay with it? If I was. I know, you're always teasing me how I need to get out more, do more, but seriously Ben, would you be okay with me being serious about someone?"

Ben sighed, leaning against the counter. "Dad... Of course I am." He shook his head. "Listen. I know that you wanna be a good dad, that you're worried about me, whatever. But dad, you're going to be a good dad no matter what. And I want you to be happy. And if he makes you happy?" Ben shrugged. "You should go for it."

Dean chuckled. "Well, thank you for that, Ben," he said, and he stepped aside to chop the onions to go in with the pork. "But really... It's not about me. It's about you. Would _you_ be okay with this, if it happened?"

"I just said that, dad!" Ben huffed in teenaged annoyance, wandering toward the fridge to pull out a pop. "Look... You know it was hard for me when you and mom broke up, but I never doubted that you loved me. And she even was with Jake, you know... Before. And just because _he_ was an asshole and left her when she needed him..."

Ben trailed off, and Dean barely hesitated before crossing the room to pull Ben into a hug. He let the language pass, for the moment. It was hard for both of them, to remember those last few months, when Lisa had been dying on a hospital bed in Dean's living room. The breast cancer had been too aggressive, caught too late, and when her then-fiance had jumped ship, Dean hadn't hesitated to bring her and Ben home. How could he?

Ben tolerated the hug for a minute before wiping his eyes roughly and pulling away. "My point is that if he's a good guy, and you want to let me meet him, I want to. Because I won't be a kid forever, but you'll always be my dad."

Dean's own eyes were glistening, a fact that he _firmly_ intended to blame on the onions. "How'd you get to be so smart, squirt?" He ruffled Ben's hair, chuckling at the predictable indignant squawk. "Thanks, kiddo. That... That means a lot." He pressed a kiss to Ben's forehead, stepping back when his son squirmed in his arms.

"You're welcome. Hey, if we're going to the soccer game, can we go early so I can get my ball autographed? Please?"

Bemused, as always, at Ben's ability to change topics on a dime, Dean returned to chopping onions and nodded. "Sure thing, kiddo," He agreed. "Go put your backpack away, and you have thirty minutes of video game time before dinner."

Ben let out an excited whoop and hooked his backpack in one hand, thundering out of the kitchen immediately. "Hey!" Dean shouted after him as Ben charged up the steps. "No running in the house!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben was practically bouncing on his toes as he waited for Benny to arrive. They'd decided it made more sense to all ride together than to find separate parking spaces, so Benny was coming to the house.

Dean understood the urge, since an anxious knot was forming in his stomach. What if Benny and Ben didn't get along? What if, when faced with an, admittedly awesome, fourteen year old, Benny decide he wasn't ready for more kids in his life? What if Ben _wasn't_ as okay with everything as he thought he was? Dean's stomach clenched. Benny was so much a part of his life already, it was hard not to plan the future.

The roar of a motorcycle at his driveway had Ben running to open the blinds and see. "Woah! Dad! You never told me he rode a _motorcycle!_ That's so _awesome!_ "

"Uh, yeah, he does," Dean said, following a little more sedately. "No running in the house, please, Ben." By the time he got to the door, Benny had swung off the cycle and tucked his helmet under his arm. Ben yanked the door open before he could knock.

"Hi, I'm Ben," he said, tucking his soccer ball under one arm before sticking out a hand and waiting for Benny to take it. Benny's eyes sparkled with amusement, and Dean felt the knot relax a little bit. What had he been so worried about? Benny was awesome too, after all.

"Ben, huh? I'm Benny. Nice t' meetcha, Ben." He took Ben's hand and shook it once, firmly, before looking over his shoulder to where Dean stood. "Hello, Cher," he said, and the smile that spread across his lips melted the knot the rest of the way. "How are you?"

Dean let himself be pulled into a light embrace, and refused to be disappointed it wasn't led with a kiss. Ben was right there! "Great, thanks. Are you ready to go? This little hellion's about ready to steal my keys and head out himself."

"Hey!" Ben's indignant shout was ignored completely as Benny stepped back.

"Sure thing. Have somewhere I can leave my helmet? It's a bit bulky to carry when I'm not riding."

"Yeah, just put it on the coffee table," Dean said, nodding to the low table in front of the couch where Ben had been writing his book report earlier that morning. Benny set the helmet down carefully, not wanting to disrupt any of the stack of papers Ben had left somewhat haphazardly piled.

"Alright, everybody into the car. Ben, you're in the back, adults get legroom priority."

Ben let out a halfhearted 'aww', but he knew the drill, so he slid in behind the passenger seat before scooting to the middle where he had the most space.

Benny took the passenger seat, smiling as Dean hesitated for a moment before closing the door for him. "Right," Dean said as he finally slid into his own seat. "So we'll go down, see if we get your ball signed, then catch a bite to eat before the game. Sound cool, kids?"

"Yeah!" Ben shifted so he could look at Benny more directly. "So... Do you care if I call you Benny?" He said with no preamble. "Just 'cause dad didn't tell me your last name, and anyway, if you're gonna be my new stepdad, calling you 'mister whatever' would probably get old real fast."

Dean nearly choked, hitting the brakes a _touch_ too hard at the stop light. He was crimson to the tips of his ears, but before he could get out more than a strangled " _Ben!_ ", Benny was laughing and nodding.

"Sure thing, brotha," he said, turning in his seat so he could look Ben in the eye. "My full name's Benjamin David Lafitte, but please do call me Benny. I'm... Not so sure about the stepdad part yet, but a man can hope." He winked at Ben, and Dean's heart skipped a beat.

Ben grinned from the back seat. "Cool. How long have you been a firefighter?"

Dean relaxed a little as Benny turned on the charm. "Oh, 'bout fifteen years. I started when I was out of high school, not much else to do. Didn't really wanna go to college, and I was tryin' to pick a trade, but a buddy of mine was going to join the department, and I thought, well, why not? Best decision I ever made. What are you thinkin' you might like to do?"

"I haven't really thought about it," Ben said, shrugging a little. "I want to do something with cars, like dad, but I don't know if I want to be a mechanic, or design cars, or what. He just says I need to work on my math grade either way." He wrinkled his nose at the back of Dean's head, and Dean chuckled.

"Well, you do," his dad answered, shooting a glance at him in the rearview mirror. "You're not gonna be the best... whatever you decide, with a C in algebra."

Ben stuck out his tongue and rolled his soccer ball across his knees. "I know dad, geeze." He turned his attention back to Benny. "So, got any kids?"

"Ben!' Dean got his admonishment out a little more solidly that time. "I'm sorry, Benny... Geeze. Usually my kid has more manners than your average chimp."

"It's alright, Cher,' Benny said, shaking his head and chuckling. "I don't mind. Seems like he's got a good head on his shoulders. I don't mind the questions." He squeezed Dean's hand, reaching to where it rested on the gear shift, before turning back to Ben.

"I do have a little girl; her name's Izzy. She'll be five in a couple months here... I don't get to see her that often, though. She lives with her momma most of the time." He smiled. "If things keep goin' like this, though, I think maybe you'll get to meet her real soon."

"Oh, that's awesome!" Ben bounced a little, excitedly. "I always wanted to be a big brother."

Dean sighed a little. He knew that; his son had made no secret of it. But things had gone bad between him and Lisa before that could have been a reality. He knew he ought to say something, but the lump in his throat kept him silent, and Benny just smiled.

"Yeah? Well. I'm sure she'd like to have someone like you in her life, too."

Ben's grin was incandescent in the rear view, and Dean allowed himself to hope as he pulled into the parking lot of the stadium. Maybe this had a chance after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They pulled back into Dean's house as the sun was going down over the horizon. Ben bounced in the back seat, the newly autographed ball rolling between his hands across his knees. "That was just... Did you see that _kick_ dad? When Sanchez got the goal over Dominick?"

Dean chuckled as he cut the engine. "Yeah, I did." Ben had only been talking about the game winning kick for the _entire_ drive home. "Now get inside and get in the shower. Uncle Sammy's picking you up first thing tomorrow to go to that kicking clinic in Brandon. It's gonna be a long drive, so you want to get your rest."

Ben sighed, but slipped out from behind Dean's seat without too much more complaint. "Right," he said. He stopped by the passenger door. "Night, Benny. It was nice to meet you. Thanks again for the cheese fries."

Benny grinned as he stepped out of the car, and clapped a hand warmly on Ben's back. "You're welcome, Ben," he said. "Thank you for letting me come with you. I look forward to getting to know you better."

Dean came around the car, locking it, before wrapping an arm around Benny's waist. "Thanks for coming with us," he said as he guided them toward the door. "This was... an awesome night."

Benny nodded, leaning over to press a quick kiss to Dean's lips. "Yes, it was. I had a really good time, and Ben-T is a great kid."

Dean frowned, confused. "Ben-T?"

"Oh, yeah..." Benny laughed. "That's from N'awlins. Petit, get it? Ben-T. 'Cause I'm a bigger Ben, so he'd be Ben-T. If it bothers you, or him, I don't need to use it."

"No, no... That's okay. I think he'd like it, actually." By the time they got inside, Dean could hear the shower running upstairs. "Do you want a cup of coffee or something?"

Benny shook his head. "No, Cher... I gotta get home." He bent and kissed Dean again, a little more thoroughly since they were out of the way of prying eyes. "I'm on call starting at ten tomorrow morning, I'd best go get some sleep."

Dean broke away from the kiss, but his hands lingered on Benny's hips for a moment. "Oh, yeah. I guess you better." He shook his head, then leaned in for one more kiss. When he broke away the second time, he passed Benny his helmet. "Drive safe, then," he said, following Benny back to the door. "And text me when you get home, yeah?"

"Sure thing, Cher," Benny agreed, pulling Dean into one last embrace before stepping back and pulling his helmet on.

Dean closed the door softly, watching by the window for the motorcycle to wind its way down the street. A couple minutes later, the water shut off and Ben appeared at the top of the steps. He was wet, his hair still dripping, dressed in his pajamas. He watched Dean stare out the window for a minute before he spoke. 

"Can I have a snack before bed?"

Dean startled a little, narrowing his eyes playfully at his son as he turned around. "I'm gonna put a bell around your neck one of these days, kid. Can't you be like a normal teenager and clomp around all the time?" He stepped away from the window and toward the kitchen. "I can't believe you're hungry, after all the junk at the stadium!" He laughed, but shook his head. "That's fine. Do you want an apple and some Sunbutter?"

"Yeah, sure," he agreed, following his dad into the kitchen. "And maybe some cocoa?"

Dean snorted, even as he detoured to the fridge to get the milk out. "You drive a hard bargain, kid," he teased. "Alright, I'll do the cocoa, you do the apples and Sunbutter." He assembled the cocoa powder, milk, sugar and vanilla and began to heat a pot on the stove.

"So... What did you think of Benny?" The suspense was killing him. No matter what Ben said before, if his son didn't like Benny, it wasn't going to work. Ben had to take the lead in his life, no matter what.

"I thought he was super cool! He said maybe he could teach me some goalie moves sometime! And his tattoos are awesome too." He washed a few apples at the sink, glancing up at his father as he did. "I liked him, dad. Really. So don't use me as an excuse, okay? I meant it earlier; I want you to be happy, and if he makes you happy, you should go for it."

Dean smiled wistfully at his son. "You're a good kid, Ben," he said as he measured the sugar, vanilla and cocoa into the hot milk. "And... Thanks. I'm not making any promises yet, but we'll see where it goes from here, yeah?"

Ben nodded, slicing apples and put them on a plate. He headed toward the table, bringing the jar of Sunbutter over with him. "That sounds good, dad," he said as he sat at the table to wait for the cocoa. "Do you think we could go to the zoo next time? We haven't been in ages."

Dean chuckled, pouring the cocoa into two mugs and then adding a spritz of whipped cream to each. "Sure," he said, putting the whipped cream back in the fridge and then bringing the cocoa over to the table. "That sounds great."


	6. Chapter 6

Dean pulled up outside Benny's apartment, killing the engine and staring up at the door. This was bigger than Benny meeting Ben; Isadora was so much younger, and there was so much more at stake. If this didn't go well, Dean wouldn't blame Benny for breaking things off. He was just as good of a dad as Dean was, it was only natural for him to want to protect his kid.

"Dad? Aren't we going in?" Ben poked Dean's shoulder, startling him out of his reverie. "Benny said he was going to be ready at ten, and it's almost five after." The teenager was almost more excited than Dean was, to meet Benny's daughter. They were going to go to the zoo, and Ben was thrilled.

"Yeah, yeah, we're going in. Let's go." Dean opened his door and stepped out, hesitating only briefly before joining Ben on the sidewalk. They pressed the buzzer for apartment 242 and Benny buzzed them up a moment later. "Come in, Cher, we're almost ready."

Dean laughed, ushering Ben into the building ahead of him. "I knew he wouldn't be ready quite yet," he said, shaking his head. "Five year olds are harder to corral than you'd think." Dean led the way up the steps to the second floor, to Benny's apartment. Ben knocked once.

"Come in, it's open!"

Ben turned the handle and pushed inside. Benny's apartment was a lot smaller than he'd expected; made even smaller by stuffed animals and toys spread across every surface. Benny sat at the couch, with a squirming little girl between his knees.

"Isadora Lafitte, will you _please_ stand still so daddy can finish your hair, Boo?" His voice held a hint of pleading, and the little girl squirmed again. She was dressed in a bright pink polka dot jumper, and Benny was trying to pull her hair up with a pair of pink bows.

Dean chuckled. "You got a little fireball there, Benny," he said, leaning on the wall, watching as she danced away from Benny finally. Her red hair was half in a pigtail, the other half standing tall and frizzy. She ran up to Dean, stopping at his feet and looking up at him.

"Hi! I'm Izzy! Who're you?"

Dean laughed, kneeling down so he could see her eye-to-eye. "Hi Izzy! Nice to meet you. My name is Dean. I'm a friend of your daddy's." He looked her over, looking for signs of his Benny. Her hair and skin must have been from her mother, a creamy light brown that somehow complimented the red on top perfectly. Her eyes, though, were all Benny, big and blue. "This is my son, Ben."

Ben waved at her, but didn't step too close. He didn't want to startle her. He smiled, though, and practically melted when she smiled back.  
"Do you want to go to the zoo, Izzy? We're ready to go, but I bet your dad would like to finish your hair."

Izzy pouted, stomping her foot. "It _hurts_ ," she said, shaking her head. "I don't want to put my hair up."

Benny sighed, standing up from the couch and walking over. "Well then let me take it out, sugah. I know it's not comfy t' mess with your hair, but you need to do _something_." He shook his head as Izzy glared at him, and he took a moment to smile at Dean, pulling him into a brief hug. "We're almost ready, Cher," he said, letting his hand linger on Dean's shoulder for a minute. He wouldn't kiss in front of the kids, not yet, but this he could do.

"You're fine," Dean said, shaking his head. "We're not in a rush, and I remember trying to get a five year old out of the house." He grinned, nudging Ben with one elbow. "This one _always_ had to pee _right_ when I got him buckled into his car seat, even if I asked him before we got in the car."

Ben blushed as Benny's warm laugh rang out. "Don't worry about it, Ben-T," he said, patting Ben's arm. "But I have a bathroom down the hall if you need to go." He grinned when Ben swatted at him, and then turned toward his little girl who was finally done pouting.

"Can I finish your hair, sugah? I'd like us to get to go to the zoo, but I need to either put your hair up or down so we can leave."

Izzy huffed but came back to stand between Benny's knees when he sat on the couch. She let out a single tearful whine when Benny skillfully gathered the last of her frizzy hair and pulled into a tight pigtail on the top of her head. "There. All done. See how much easier it is to finish up when you're standing still?"

Izzy stuck out her tongue at her father, and then ran over to Ben. "I want to see the gorillas! They're so cool! Miss Elra showed a video in class where a gorilla climbed a tree and made a nest up there, like a bird! It's so awesome!"

Ben chuckled. "I like the gorillas too," he agreed. "But my favorite are the lemurs. They're like little monkeys, but they can jump so far, it's like they're flying!"

"Woah!" Izzy immediately took Ben's hand, squeezing tight. "I want you to show me the lemurs!"

"Sounds good," Ben agreed, looking over to where their fathers watched, bemused and happy. "Are we ready to go now?"

Benny nodded, picking up a light jacket for Izzy. He rolled his sleeves up, and grabbed a booster seat from next to the door. "Alright, let's head out." He smiled, letting Dean lead the way to the door.

At the steps, Izzy clutched Ben's hand with one hand and the railing with the other, taking each step one foot at a time until they reached the bottom. Then she tugged his hand. "Is that your car?" She pointed at Baby, parked near the curb.

"Yeah, it's my dad's car," Ben said, letting her lead the way over.

"Oh! It's pretty!" She looked up at Ben, her eyes wide. "I want to sit next to you! Daddy, can I sit next to Ben?"

Benny chuckled from behind her, and nodded. "Sure thing, Boo," he agreed. "If you want, you can sit next to Ben." After all, he knew there was limited seating in Dean's car, so Izzy and Ben would probably be sitting together anyway.

It took just a minute for Dean to get the booster seat settled, then Benny strapped Izzy in. Ben slid in next to her and they were on their way a few minutes later. Izzy babbled the whole way, telling Ben about the time her daycare went to the zoo, and how they got to see _peacocks_ , but Johnny pushed her and made her drop her ice cream.

Ben, for his part, listened intently. Dean glanced proudly at him in the back seat. His son was nodding in all the right places, acting like talking to a five year old was the highlight of his day. Dean's stomach clenched. He hoped that this wouldn't go sour; Ben clearly was in love already.

"I wanna see the lemurs!" Izzy declared the minute they stepped out of the car. "Ben's gonna show me the lemurs."

Benny chuckled. "I know, sugah, let's get inside first though, okay?"

Izzy shot him a look; it clearly said 'yes, dad, I _know_.' They made their way through the gates and got their wrist bands. Izzy was practically dancing in her excitement, and as soon as her wrist band was on, she tugged out of Ben's grasp and darted off.

Ben was after her a heartbeat later, but Benny's big voice boomed out through the crowd. "Isadora Estelle LaFitte, you stop right there!"

Like magic, Izzy pulled to a stop and waited for Ben to catch up. When Dean and Benny got there, Benny knelt next to her, frowning. "None of that," he said firmly. "If you run off like that again, we're going home. End of story. Understood? There are too many people here for that."  
Izzy pouted, but nodded, her poofy pigtails bobbing a little as she did. "Yes, daddy," she said, contrite. "Can we go now? I really wanna see..."

Benny sighed, standing up. "Alright, let's go find the lemurs." He glanced at Dean as Ben and Izzy started off ahead of the. "I don't know if I'll survive her teenage years," he lamented, joining their fingers and chuckling softly.

"You'll get through it," Dean said with a laugh, leaning up to give Benny a quick peck on the cheek. Nothing too intense; there were kids around after all. But the little bit of blush he got over the top of Benny's scruff was too adorable to pass up.

They wandered for a few hours; Izzy was a seemingly inexhaustible hurricane of excitement, darting from one exhibit to the next, demanding Ben lift her up so she could see better, or to have him read her the plaque next to the animals.

Ben, for his part, did whatever she asked. He had a bemused smile on his face the whole time, but seemed to be smitten with the little fireball of energy he'd gotten roped into escorting. Finally, about one o'clock, after they'd covered at least half the zoo, Izzy seemed to be drooping. She wandered back to Benny and Dean, the pout Dean was coming to recognize on her lips.

"Daaaddyyy," she whined, grabbing Benny's leg. "I'm hungry! I want a hot dog! Can we get a hot dog? Please? Please please please..."

Benny chuckled. "Don't whine, sugah," he said, tweaking her pigtail with one hand. "It's not ladylike. But yes, we can stop for lunch. Ben, are hot dogs alright with you?"

"Sure," Ben said with an easy shrug. "As long as the fries aren't cooked in peanut oil."

Benny frowned, his professional senses kicking in. "You allergic?" Dean hadn't mentioned before, but then, he'd done all the ordering at the soccer game when they'd gone out, so presumably he'd known what would be safe or not.

"Yeah, since I was little. Peanuts and tree nuts." Ben shrugged. "It's not a big deal, really."

"Not a big deal?" Dean frowned at his son's nonchalance. "I carry an epi-pen," he told Benny, shooting a small glare at Ben. "He has an anaphylactic reaction relatively quickly. He can't have pesto, or any kind of nut at all."

Ben looked a little embarrassed to have Dean say it all out loud like that, but Benny was nodding intently. "Got it. I'll pick up the refresher course on the epi-pen next weekend, I think one of my buddies is gonna be going over it for some of the new folks at the station. I'm glad you told me." He looked over at Ben. "That's a very important piece of information, Ben-T. Don't ever be afraid to tell someone about that. Better a little embarrassed than dead."

"I know," Ben said, scuffing his sneaker on the floor. It was so much less embarrassing to eat at home than to eat out; at least at home he knew his dad had checked everything and it was safe.

Izzy tugged on Ben's hand. "Ben? What's 'llergic mean?"

"It means I can't eat nuts or else I get very sick and can't breathe." Ben looked down at Izzy, and smiled reassuringly. "But my dad carries special medicine for me, just in case, and I have one at school, too. I have extra in my pocket if I need it. I won't, though. I'm very careful what I eat."

Izzy frowned, and then turned back to Benny, hands on her hips. "Daddy! When we get home, we gotta get rid of the peanut butter! What if Ben got sick at our house!"

"You're right, Boo," Benny agreed. "If we're gonna have Ben come over, we better go through the pantry and make sure everything's safe for him. For now, though, we might as well go get lunch. We'll make sure everything we get is safe for him to eat." Benny nodded gravely at his little girl, and Dean's heart flipped. How could he have gotten so lucky, to find someone more than willing to up-end his life for him?

Satisfied, Izzy nodded and turned toward the center of the zoo, and they all trooped off to find food. Dean sidled up close to Benny. "Thank you," he murmured, too low for Ben to hear over whatever Izzy was chattering to him about at that moment. "I don't know how I got so lucky, but... Thanks."

Benny's answer was a smile and a quick peck on the cheek before they got into the line to order lunch.

The rest of their day passed about the same way. Once reenergized with her "healthy" lunch of hot dog, fries and apple juice, Izzy was off like a shot again, dragging Ben through the other half of the zoo, occasionally insisting that he pose with her for pictures, and generally running herself ragged.

The day wound down, and the foursome made their way toward the exits. As they passed the gift shop on the way out, Izzy spotted a basket full of stuffed lemurs, and she gasped. "Daddy! Daddy look! Lemurs!" She darted over, stroking the fur of the stuffed animal and looked up at Benny with big eyes. "Please daddy please please, lemurs are my _favorite!_ "

Benny shook his head. "Naw, sugah, come on..." He chuckled. "You've got plenty of stuffed animals at home. Maybe next time, yeah?"  
Izzy's lip came up in a pout, and tears began to fall down her rosy cheeks. "Daddy, daddy, _please_ ," she begged, and this time Benny swooped down and picked her up. Dean let his hand go with a chuckle.

"Ah yes. The 'I've been out in the sun all day and I'm so happy I could cry' temper tantrum," he said to Ben, shaking his head. "Glad you outgrew that one."

Ben laughed a little, but his eyes kept darting to where Izzy was crying on Benny's shoulder. "Hey, I've got that birthday money from Uncle Sammy with me... D'you mind if I stay and look around for a sec? I'll meet you right at the car, I promise."

Dean raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Alright. You've got your phone on you, right?"

Ben nodded. "Yeah, I do. I'll be right there. I might even catch up with you. I just haven't been to the zoo in a long time."

"Alright," Dean said with a sigh. "Ten minutes. If you're not at the car by then, I'm coming in for you."

"I got it, dad," Ben said, wandering into the store. He waited until his dad was out of sight before snagging one of the lemurs and taking it to the counter. He paid for it, and the girl behind the counter smiled at him.

"Are you getting this for your little sister? You're such a sweet big brother," she said as she bagged it up.

Ben pulled the money out of his wallet, passing it over with a shrug. It wasn't really worth it to explain the situation, so he just smiled. "Well, the lemurs _are_ her favorite," he said instead, secretly pleased that she'd fallen in love with them as much as he had after she'd seen them doing their acrobatics, swinging branch to branch.

The crush of people leaving the gates meant that Benny and Dean had needed to travel slowly, so Ben caught up before they even got to the car. He grinned as his dad looked over at him. "Found something good, buddy?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Ben answered. He didn't open the bag, though, just kept it tight in his hand so he wouldn't drop it.

When they got to the car, Izzy had mostly quieted to sniffles, her eyes drooping shut. Benny buckled her into the car seat and Ben slid in beside her. "Hey," Ben said, smiling and reaching to give her a little sideways hug. "Feel a little better?"

She nodded, still sniffling. "Daddy wouldn't let me get th' lemur," she whimpered, conscious of the fact that Benny was sliding into the front seat.

"Yeah, I know," Ben said. "But listen... I got you a present." He smiled warmly. "To thank you for taking me all over the zoo. Do you wanna see?"

Izzy's eyes widened, and she nodded eagerly. He passed her the bag and she looked inside, squealing. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you Ben!" She pulled the lemur out and hugged it tight to her chest, dropping the bag heedlessly to the floor.

"Daddy! Daddy look! Look!" Benny craned in the seat to see, and she hugged the toy tightly again. "Ben got me the lemur, 'cause it's _our_ favorite!"

"I see that," Benny said mildly, shaking his head a little. "Well. Looks like she's got you wrapped around her finger too, hey Ben-T?"

Ben blushed a little. "I had some spending money," he said with a little shrug. "And she really wanted it, so..."

Benny chuckled and shook his head. "I guess so. Well, that was awful sweet of you, brotha."

Dean laughed as he backed the car out of the spot. Only his kid. By the time they pulled back up to the apartment, Izzy was sound asleep, and Ben seemed pretty close to doing the same. Dean parked the car and stepped out.

"I had a really great time today," Dean said, before Benny could retrieve Izzy from the back seat. "Izzy's a great kid."

"So's Ben-T," Benny said, chuckling and stepping up to draw Dean to the side of the car. "I'd invite you two in, but I think those two both need to get in bed."

Dean laughed a little. "Yeah, I think you're right. But... I think this feels right, Benny," he said, stepping in for a hug. "Ben does too. I think we've got something here."

"Yeah, I think we do," Benny said, drawing Dean close and pressing a quick kiss to his lips before pulling away and opening the door. Ben helped him to maneuver the buckle off and lift Izzy out of the car, then passed him the booster seat. "G'night, Ben-T," Benny said after Izzy was safely wrapped in his arms.

"Night, Benny," Ben murmured back sleepily, leaning against the window once more. Dean walked Benny to the apartment building, opening the main door for him.

"G'night," he said, chuckling. "I'll text when I get home."

"Good." Benny stepped sideways into the building, lifting the car seat in a little wave. "G'night, Cher, I'll see you soon."

Dean walked back to the car a little lighter, a little happier. Yeah. Maybe this could all work out, after all.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hi Benny!" Ben pulled the door open, stepping back so Benny could come inside. "Dad just ran to the store, said he forgot to refill the propane tank for the grill." He grinned as Benny clapped him on the shoulder.

"Alright, Ben-T, that sounds good to me." He laughed. "I guess it's just the two-a us for a little while." He followed Ben inside and flopped down on the couch. Ben had been playing Rock Band, and the teen didn't waste any time picking up his guitar shaped controller.

"You wanna play drums?" He gestured to another controller, this one a rudimentary set of drums. "Dad usually plays those, but if you wanna play too, you can."

Benny shrugged. "Sure," he said, scooting to the edge of the couch. "You'll have to teach me, though. Never been much for video games."

"Oh, it's easy." Ben fired up a song. "Here, watch me once. But all you gotta do is hit the right color button at the right time. Simple!" He began to push buttons as "Carry on Wayward Son" began to play on the video game. "Red, green, green, if it's a long bar you hold the button down... Just like that."

Benny watched him, shaking his head a little. "You kids," he said, chuckling. "Alright, well, that seems simple enough, I'll give it a shot." Ben fired up one of the 'easy' songs, but Benny quickly found himself distracted, singing along to the AC/DC song. When they finished, Benny laughed at his own ineptitude.

"I think you'll be better playin' by yourself, brotha," he said, setting aside his drum sticks and leaning back on the couch. "Maybe I'll just watch. How's your soccer team comin' on?"

Ben sighed as he started up another song. "It's not. We've had like, three practices. But our coaches are guys from the college, and they don't have time right now to run practices. So we go with the varsity guys, but the coach just gives us drills and that's it, because the varsity tea needs her more."

"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that." Benny said. "How often do y'all like to practice?" His mind flitted ahead; Ben was such a good kid. It made him sad to know he didn't get to do what he loved.

"We were scheduled for twice a week," Ben said, "strumming" aggressively for a minute. "But we've been lucky to get one. Ours get cancelled if the varsity team has a big game or something."

Benny grunted pensively. Well, maybe there was something he could do about that. "What would you think if I maybe volunteered to come coach?" He offered it tentatively. He and Ben got along pretty well, but if Ben didn't want him, he wouldn't push it.

Ben nearly dropped his controller. "Really?" He paused the song and spun to face Benny. "I mean, do you mean it? Because we're really, really hurting for coaching, and I don't think I'll have a shot at varsity next year without us winning some games."

Benny nodded seriously. "Yes, really. I can't promise yet, Ben-T, but I'd love to get back into it. I'll talk to your coach, and to my Captain, and see what I can do, okay?"

Ben let out a whoop and impulsively hugged Benny. "Thank you!"

"Thanks for what?" Dean's voice sounded from the doorway, where he had appeared. He carried a couple of paper grocery bags, haphazardly stacked in his arms, and the heavy propane tank looped through the fingers of one hand.

Ben pushed up from the couch and darted over, grabbing one of the bags from Dean's arms. "Dad! Benny said he'd talk to coach and see about helping to coach our soccer team!"

Benny pushed himself up a little more slowly, chuckling as he took the second bag from Dean's arms and pulled him into a soft kiss. "I said I'd do what I could do." He said as he broke the kiss. "I can't make any promises but I'll do what I can."

"Well, hello to you too," Dean said with a grin, readjusting the tank as he headed for the back porch. "And that's awesome, man. _You're_ awesome."

"Don't be too excited," Benny said, following the Winchesters into the kitchen. "I still have to talk to my Captain about it. But if nothin' else, I can probably run a couple of Saturday practices for you." He set his bag down on the counter as Ben went into the fridge and pulled out the steaks in their marinade.

Dean stepped onto the back porch and began to hook the propane tank up to the grill. "Anything I can do to help, Cher?"

Benny leaned on the door frame, and Dean glanced up at him. "I got some stuff for a salad? And some rolls, if you wanna toss them into the oven for me?"

"You? Salad?" Benny's eyes widened comically and he clutched at his heart dramatically. "Who are ya and what've y' done with mah Dean?"

Dean barked out a laugh, flipping him the bird over his shoulder. "Oh, shut up, jerk," he said, screwing the last of the hose together. "Are you gonna make the salad or not?"  
Benny was laughing as he pushed himself away from the door frame. "Of course, cher," he said as he headed inside. "Hey, Ben-T," he called to the living room, "come help me with this salad, brotha."

"Just a second!" Ben finished his song, but then he came clattering into the kitchen. "Benny, is Izzy gonna come over tomorrow? I got this really cute toy at the thrift store yesterday I wanna show her."

Benny smiled. "You spoil her," he said, but there was no heat in it. "Yeah, she's comin' over tomorrow. I'll bring her over first thing when she gets in, okay?"

Ben grinned as he took the lettuce from the bags Dean had brought and went to the sink to wash it. "Cool. I miss her. I wish she came over more often.

"I know," Benny said as he began to pull out the other vegetables from the bag. Dean had really gone all out; maybe Sammy was getting to him about eating healthier. He could only hope.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Daddy!" Izzy ran across the floor, jumping into Benny's lap where he sat on the couch. He caught her with an 'oof', chuckling as she squirmed into place. "Daddy! Look! Ben-T made me a princess hat!" She was wearing a bright pink tall cap with a flowing train of sparkling white gauze. "It's so awesome daddy!"

"It sure is, Princess," Benny agreed, straightening the cap where her frizzy hair had pushed it aside. "That was very nice of him." Ben appeared in the doorway, a blush high on his cheeks.

"It wasn't really... I had to do a sewing project for home ec, and I really didn't want to make an apron. So I saw the pattern and thought why not?"

Izzy squirmed around and slid off Benny's lap. "I love it, Ben-T!" She said, running over to hug his legs. "Thank you thank you." She grabbed his hand. "I wanna go outside and play! I'll be the princess, and you can be a knight!"

Ben chuckled. "You better ask your dad if we can go outside," he said, though he knew Benny wouldn't have a problem with them out in the fenced yard.

She stopped abruptly. "Daddy, please please can we go outside? Pretty please?"

He made a show of thinking about it before finally nodding. He could see she was practically jumping out of her skin with excitement. "Okay. But be careful, and listen to Ben-T, okay? When he tells you it's time to come inside, you listen!" He shook an admonishing finger at her, but he knew it wasn't necessary. She acted like Ben hung the stars in the sky; he knew there wouldn't be any problem of her not listening to him.

"Okay daddy!" She spun around and grabbed Ben's hand again. "Come _on_ Ben-T! I wanna play outside! You gotta save me from the dragon and chase away the bandits..." Benny chuckled as her little voice faded as they passed into the kitchen and out into the back yard.

Izzy squared off on the swing hanging from the big tree in the back yard. "Okay. This is the dragon's lair, and this," she climbed into the swing, "is like the big hanging bird cage the dragon put me in! You're the knight, you gotta save me from the dragon!"

Ben laughed, but obediently picked up a stick for a 'sword'. "Where is the dragon, M'lady?" He asked, bowing gallantly. She giggled again and pointed at the nearest bush.

"Over there!" She said, swinging herself up and back as Ben began to 'attack' the bush.

"Let her go, monster!" Ben snarled, thrusting the branch into the bush, then pulling back and swatting at it. "Let her go, I said!" He whacked at the bush a few times until Izzy giggled and clapped her hands.

"Yay! You did it! You killed the dragon! Now you can come and rescue the princess!"

Ben laughed and dropped his stick obediently. He came over to the swing and made an ostentatious show of 'opening' the cage before swinging Izzy up into his arms. "Come on, princess! Let's go back to the castle!"

He grinned at her squeal of joy as he began to carry her around the yard. He looked up a few minutes later and blushed when he saw his dad standing on the porch, a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Hello, princess," Dean said, waving to her. "Can I borrow your faithful steed for a minute? We're gonna eat on the porch tonight and I need help carrying everything out."

Izzy let go of Ben, sliding to the ground and clapping excitedly. "Yay! I wanna help, I wannahelp! _Please!_ "

Dean grinned. "Well alright," he agreed. "Come inside and wash your hands, your daddy is cutting the bread and you can carry it out here, okay?"

Ben followed her inside, bumping shoulders with Dean and smiling. He couldn't believe how lucky he was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Dee." Izzy walked up to the couch, her hands full of conditioner, combs and hair ties. "I need help with my hair."

Dean blinked, and set down the book he was reading. "Well... Shouldn't your daddy help with that, Izzy?" He had zero experience with hair; even Lisa had rarely let him brush her hair, elt alone style it. But Izzy was shaking her head firmly, and Dean recognized that look. Once she got an idea into her head, it was awful hard to knock it loose.

"No. Daddy pulls too hard. I want _you_ to put my pig tails in, Dee. Please?" She turned her big brown puppy dog eyes on him, and Dean melted. Like she knew he would.

"Fine," he said, sighing and shifting over on the couch so she could come between his legs. "Come over here. You just want pigtails? Nothin' fancy?"

"Uh huh." Izzy said, dumping her armful on the couch before turning away from him and bracing her arms on his knees. "Just make 'em tall, Dee, I wanna wear my pretty dress and I don't want hair in my face!"

Dean took the bottle of detangling conditioner and read the back of it skeptically before beginning to spritz it liberally on the curls. He was a little more tentative combing out the snarls than he'd seen Benny be, but he didn't want to hurt her. He carefully combed in a part, and then reached for one of the ties.

"Here?" He gathered the hair into a loose bundle near the top of her head, nearly losing it when she nodded.

"Yeah, there!"

Dean stretched one of the scrunchies out, and stared at the bundle of hair in his hand. How was he supposed to do that without pulling? But he squeezed carefully, bundling the hair as tight as he could before stretching the elastic over the top. A few quick winds and one side was in place. He let out a sigh of relief when she didn't whine that he was _pulling_ , like he usually heard her complain to Benny about.

He did the other side the same way, and she spun around as soon as he was done. "Thank you, Dee!" she said with a bright grin, leaning up and kissing his cheek. "Can you learn to do braids like my mommy? I want you to do my hair all the time!"  
Dean was a little taken aback, but nodded. "Uh, sure thing honey. I'll try." After all, Izzy was over at his house nearly as much as at her daddy's apartment, anymore.

Benny came down the hallway from the bathroom, where he'd been showering. "Alright, Izzy, I can do your hair now, sugah," he said as he rounded the corner.

"No, daddy, Dee did it!" Izzy said proudly. She gathered her stuff up and headed down the hall. "Thanks Dee! I'm gonna go play now! Bye!"

Benny blinked. "She let you do her hair? I didn't hear any shouting..."

"Yeah... Me neither." Dean stood up and crossed the room, pulling Benny into his arms. "Let's count our blessings." He grinned, and pressed a kiss to Benny's lips before turning back to the couch. "And look for some youtube videos. She wants me to learn how to braid next."

"Oh boy..." Benny pulled his phone from his pocket and opened YouTube. "Well. I guess we'd best get started."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean lay back with a sigh, pillowing his head on Benny's shoulder as sweat dried on his skin. "That. Was. Awesome." He trailed a finger up Benny's stomach, the soft hair tickling his fingers. "A weekend without kids." He chuckled. "Seems like such a rarity these days." He rolled sideways, letting Benny kiss him softly before settling onto the pillows of Benny's bed.

"Yeah... It was nice of Ben-T's friend to have him over tonight." He ran his hand up and down Dean's arm, savoring the feeling of his boyfriend's skin under his fingertips. He sighed happily, then leaned down to kiss Dean again.

They lay on the bed for a while, languidly kissing, enjoying the ability to be close without the pressure of knowing there were impressionable children just down the hall. As their touches grew more heated again, their kisses deeper, Dean's phone rang. Dean groaned, pulling away and pressing his forehead to Benny's.

"That could be Ben. I'm sorry. I gotta get it."

Benny sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, 'f course," he said, rolling aside. Dean fumbled with his pants for a minute, finally finding his phone.

"Hello?"

Benny instantly went on alert when Dean's face went pale and then his lover started to climb out of the bed. "I'll be right there! I'm on my way."

Benny sat up as Dean began to pull his jeans on. "Cher? What's going on?"

Dean was stricken, his hands shaking as he reached for his shirt. "Ben went into anaphylactic shock; one of the kids at the sleepover had peanut butter cookies in his backpack. His epipen was in his backpack. They're taking him to Mercy."

Benny was out of bed the moment he heard something was wrong with Ben, pulling his own jeans and shirt on. "Oh, Cher," he said, pulling Dean into a brief hug. "He'll be alright. I'm sure."

Dean was shaking his head, pulling away abruptly before sitting on the edge of the bed to pull his shoes on. "I've gotta go. Benny, I've gotta get there."

"I know. I'll drive you." Benny was impressed that Dean was as coherent as he was; in the same situation, Benny didn't think he'd be as clearheaded. As it was _his_ hands were shaking to think of the bright young man he'd come to love so much being in so much danger. "Let's go."

"You don't have to..." Dean trailed off when he caught the look on Benny's face, and pushed up. "Come on. Let's go. I've got to... I need to see him."

Benny nodded, and a few minutes later they were bundled into Benny's sedan and on the road to the hospital. It was nearly a twenty minute drive to get there; Benny lived on the opposite side of town from where Dean and Ben did. Dean had picked their house, so long ago, because of its proximity to the hospital. By the time they pulled in, Dean's leg was tapping impatiently.

They ran in the doors of the ER and Dean darted to the desk. "Ben Winchester? They brought him in, anaphylaxis? I'm his father."

The nurse looked up at him sympathetically. "Of course... If you go through those doors there, and to the left, the nurses at that station there can help you."

Dean bit back another growl of impatience. What about his kid? But he darted through the door and Benny followed, until they _finally_ found a nurse who could take them to Ben.

"He's doing alright, all things considered," she said as she walked them to the second bed in the bay. "We're going to get him into a room here shortly. The doctor wants to admit him overnight, just in case. He used his epi pen pretty quick, so he should be okay, but we _do_ have him on some oxygen. We didn't have to intubate, but it was a close thing." She pushed the curtain back and ushered Dean into the little cubicle. "The doctor can answer your questions soon; he should be here shortly."

Ben lay on the hospital bed, a wide oxygen mask over his face. His cheeks were swollen and red, and the blotchy rash seemed to spread down his chest, though it was hard to see under his hospital gown.

Dean let out a distressed noise and rushed to the bed, taking Ben's hand and ignoring the woman sitting next to him. "Ben?" His voice was broken, and he squeezed his son's hand as tightly as he dared. Every parent's worst nightmare flashed through his mind's eye, until Ben's eyes fluttered open.

"Daddy?" Ben's voice was hoarse, and he hadn't called Dean 'daddy' in... a long time.

"Hey buddy," he soothed, lifting a hand to stroke Ben's cheek. "I'm here... How you feelin'?"

Ben cleared his throat, making a face. "Like crap," he muttered, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I bet." He finally looked up. "Erica... What the hell happened?" The Deaclan's house had always been _safe_. Ben had been Dave's friend since kindergarden; there wasn't anywhere that Dean would trust more than there.

"Dean, I'm so sorry." Erica Deaclan was about Dean's age, and she'd been Lisa's best friend. Her voice was as scared as Dean's himself, and she met his eyes unflinchingly. "Dave had another friend over, from school.They did their homework and then we had dinner. After dinner, they went down to the game room to play video games."

Dean nodded, and squeezed Ben's hand more tightly. He stopped when Ben whimpered, and he realized what he was doing. "Sorry, buddy," he muttered, rubbing more soothingly. He barely noticed Benny hovering at the door, unsure of how close to come in the crowded ER cubicle.

"Everything else is a little garbled. Dave came running up the steps and said Ben couldn't breathe. He was looking for Ben's backpack, but it was up in Dave's room, where they did their homework. He ran up to get that while I called nine-one-one and went down to be with Ben. There were cookies on the floor; I think they were chocolate chip? Anyway, Dave came back with the epi pen, and we gave Ben the shot. I called you right after the ambulance got there."

Dean closed his eyes tightly. Damn it! Ben _knew_ not to take anything from someone whose kitchen they didn't know. The Deaclan's didn't use peanuts at all, and they were always careful what they cooked. Strangers, though? Can't trust strangers.

"Said they were chocolate chip," Ben muttered hoarsely, jerking Dean's mind out of the dark rut it was in. "I asked. His mom made them."  
"Damn it, Ben," Dean said, drawing in a shaky breath. "I... We'll talk about this later, okay? Right now, just rest." He swallowed, and turned to Erica. "Thank you. For everything. We'll be okay... If you want to go tell Dave Ben's gonna be alright, I'll take over here."

She unfolded from the uncomfortable plastic chair, and nodded. "I'm so, so sorry, Dean," she said softly. "You too, Ben. I want you to feel safe at my house."

"It's not your fault," Dean said, even though he desperately wanted to blame her. He couldn't, though. Really, there wasn't anyone to blame. Accidents happen, as little as he wanted to admit it. She smiled sadly at him, and patted Ben's hand.

"Right, well... Keep me updated, okay? Goodnight, Ben... Feel better."

Ben waved lethargically as she slipped past the curtain, giving Benny a knowing look as she did. Of course Ben had been talking about him; he'd made quite an impression on the boys when he'd taught the soccer team some new techniques the week before. It wasn't a good time for introductions, though, so she just slipped out. Plenty of time for that later.

Dean flopped down on her vacated chair, dragging it closer and squeezing Ben's hand. "I'm so sorry, buddy," he said again. "I'd have been here sooner, but there was traffic on the way back from Benny's." His heart skipped a beat. What if he'd been at Benny's and it... _wasn't_ good news? "I should have been faster."

Ben smiled a little shaking his head. "Issokay, dad," he whispered. "I'm ok."

"No, Ben, you're not." Dean swallowed down the lump in his throat. Time to be a dad; freak out time could come later. "But you will be." He looked up when Benny stepped closer to the bed. "Sorry," he said, looking around and seeing only one chair. "You, ah, you don't have to stay. I'm prob'ly gonna be here all night."

"I understand, cher," Benny said, stepping up to the bed and taking Ben's free hand. It stung to hear Dean push him away like that, but stress does funny things to people. He knew that, working in the field he did. Didn't make it easier to hear.

"You feelin' better, brotha?"

Ben nodded. "Yeah. I'll be better when the antihistamine kicks in." He gave Benny a wan smile. "I'll be back on the field before you know it. You still... You still wanna come to my game next week?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Benny smiled, and ruffled Ben's hair gently. "Alright, well... I'll let you two rest, and I'll talk to you later. You get lots of sleep, Ben-T. Princess Izzy's gonna be worried about you when I talk to her tomorrow, so I want you to make sure that you'll be feeling better."

Dean felt another stab in his gut at that. Here he was, in the hospital with Ben, and Benny was trying to cheer Ben up, because Dean couldn't even do that much. _Some father you are,_ he thought to himself. _Your kid coulda died, and you're just worried about gettin' laid. Nice job Winchester. Real nice._

He barely noticed when Benny bussed a kiss against his cheek. "Night, Cher,' he said, watching Dean worriedly. "I'll text you tomorrow, okay?" Truthfully, he'd rather stay, but Dean was putting off 'don't touch me' vibes the likes of which Benny had never seen, and he didn't want to push it. He waved to Ben after he got a distracted nod from his father, and slipped out past the curtain with his heart breaking. Something had changed, just now, and he didn't quite know what. Whatever it was, though, it couldn't be good.


	8. Chapter 8

“Hey dad, is Benny coming to dinner?” Ben hesitated over the pork chops in the freezer, unsure how many to pull out. Last week’s Tuesday night dinner had been cancelled due to Ben still being in the hospital, but this week Ben was determined to be as normal as possible. He’d seen Benny a few times, but his dad’s interaction had been stilted and weird, and Benny hadn’t stayed long. It made Ben sad; he missed the man’s gregarious nature, and the way he always made Dean’s face light up.

“No, I don’t think so, Ben,” Dean answered , continuing to chop onions and peppers. “I haven’t talked to him.”

Ben blinked. Benny had been such a constant presence the last few months. To hear his dad say that he hadn’t spoken to him? Weird. “Dad…” Ben closed the freezer, turning to look at Dean. “Are you breaking up with Benny?” He hated that his voice shook a little bit. But what about Izzy? And Benny was so awesome; there wasn’t anyone else Ben would want for a step-dad, not now that he knew him.

“I… It’s complicated, Ben,” Dean said, wincing a little. _This is why I don’t introduce people to my kid_ he thought sardonically.

“It’s because of me, isn’t it.” Ben’s voice shook even more. “Because I got sick.”

“No, Ben! No, it’s not your fault, not at all. Really, it’s the opposite.” Dean shook his head and put the knife down. “You are my first priority, Ben. You’re the thing I’m most worried about. And until you’re eighteen and on your own, you’re going to _stay_ my first priority.”

Ben shook his head. “No. No way. Dad you can’t break up with Benny because of me. I _know_ I was stupid, eating that cookie. I won’t do that again. But you can’t break up with him, dad!”

“Ben!” Dean’s voice was firm. “I’m not breaking up with Benny because of you. It’s just not going to work out, okay? It’s nothing you did, or didn’t do; it’s not your fault.”

“I don’t believe this,” Ben said, betrayal flooding his voice as only a teenager can manage. “What about Izzy? Can I still see Izzy? She’s not gonna understand why we just went away.”

Dean sighed softly. Kids made everything so damn complicated. “We’ll see. It’s… probably best if we don’t, though. Izzy’s a cute kid, Ben, but we don’t want to give her false ideas.”

“I just don’t get it! If it’s not my fault, why are you breaking up? You love him, dad! I heard you!” Ben’s anger amped up. “And don’t tell me you changed because I know you didn’t. You were _fine_ until I went into the hospital! I thought you guys were gonna get _married_! And now you’re breaking up!”

“Ben!” Dean’s voice was firm. “I need you to settle down. Okay? Look. It’s complicated. Yes, I love Benny. He’s a great guy, and Izzy’s a great kid. But… I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you and I couldn’t be there for you. I can’t be running around all over town. You come first, and you have to, until you’re grown. I’m your dad, that’s my job. That’s all.”

Ben felt tears welling up in his eyes, and he really didn’t care. “You know what? That’s stupid. That’s really stupid. Benny was _awesome_ and I couldn’t wait for him to be my other dad, and now…” He swallowed hard, chest heaving as he tried to get a hold of himself. “Fuck you, dad,” he said, his voice breaking as he spun on his heel. “I’m not hungry. I’m going to my room.”

“Hey! Hey Ben!” Dean’s own anger flared. “Get back here! You can’t talk to me like that!” But Ben was already charging down the hallway, and a moment later, his door slammed shut with a rattle that threatened to dislodge the picture frames hanging in the hall.

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. Dating with kids was really, really hard. He turned back to the counter and started chopping, deciding to give them both some time to calm down before he tried to talk to Ben again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben listlessly kicked the ball around, back and forth with Dave, while they waited for the rest of the team to show up. “I can’t believe he broke up with Benny,” Ben said, his frustration spilling out into a vicious kick that left Dave scrambling to meet it.

“I know, dude, but well, adults are weird.” Dave kicked the ball back, letting Ben work out a little bit of his frustration on the leather. He hadn’t been talking about anything else for the last week, so it didn’t exactly come as a surprise. Dave couldn’t really relate; his parents were married and had been for his whole life, but he knew enough other kids of divorced parents that it didn’t really surprise him. “But there’ll be other guys, or whatever. Try not to get so worried about it.”

The other players trickled onto the field and their conversation went quiet as they incorporated other players into their kicking group. They worked together for a few minutes before a sharp whistle broke the air. Everyone looked up, expecting to see Miss Freeman calling their practice to order. Ben’s face split in a grin when he saw who was standing next to her.

“Attention everyone,” Miss Freeman said, her voice carrying over the boys heads. “I trust you all remember Mr. LaFitte from the kicking clinic a few weekends ago. Well, he has very graciously volunteered to be our primary coach for the JV team. I trust you will all listen to him like you listen to me. Mr. LaFitte?”

Benny stepped forward. “Afternoon, fellas,” he said, giving them a little wave. “I hear you’ve got a game this weekend, so we’re gonna step it up and start working on some teamwork drills, okay? I want two lines.”

The boys fell into line obediently, going where Benny directed them and starting a passing drill from one line to the other. It was far from seamless, but Benny just corrected them where he needed to and then had them start the drill again.

By the end of their two hour practice, Ben was sweating more than he had at any practice so far, and was practically vibrating with excitement of seeing Benny again. As soon as they were dismissed, he rushed over to the big man and gave him a big hug. “I didn’t know you were going to be the coach!” He said, stepping back, grinning.

Benny chuckled. “Well I wanted it to be a surprise, Ben-T. And then, with your dad…” He sounded sad, and shook his head. “But I told you I’d help out with your soccer, and I meant it. It’s good to see you, too.”

Ben frowned at the reminder of his father breaking up with Benny. “I can’t believe he broke up with you,” he said bitterly. “I’m sorry. I know it’s ‘cause of me.” Ben dug the toe of his cleat into the field, staring down at his foot. If it wasn’t for his stupid allergies, Benny could be his super cool step-dad, not just his super cool soccer coach.

Benny reached out, tipping Ben’s chin up. “Hey, Ben-T. You listen to me, alright? What happened between your dad and me, it wasn’t your fault.” He crouched down a little, even though Ben wasn’t _that_ much shorter than him. “None of this is your fault. Your dad’s a great guy, and I love him a lot, but sometimes things just don’t work out, no matter how much we wish things were different.”

Benny snorted, shaking his head. “Dad’s just an idiot. I _know_ you guys were right for each other. I thought…” He swallowed hard. Crying at home in his room was one thing, but he was _not_ going to do it at school, on the soccer field where anyone could see! “I just thought you and Izzy were gonna be around, you know?” He said, when he finally got control of himself. “And I miss her. Can you tell her I say hi?”

“Of course, brotha,” Benny said, tugging Ben back into a one-armed hug. “Don’t be too mad at your dad, okay? He loves you a whole lot, and that’s important.”

Ben sighed. “I’ll try. But he loves you too, and I do too, and I know he loves Izzy, and I just… I don’t _get it_.”

“Well, it’s not always as easy as lovin’ someone, Ben.” Even if he privately agreed, just a little. Still, it was Dean’s decision, and he could respect that. It didn’t mean he had to like it, though, and the radio silence in the place of months of near-constant communication was hard. “You’ll understand when you’re older. Now g’wan. Your dad’ll be here soon. I’ll see you on Friday for practice, before the game, okay?”

Ben nodded, pulling away and smiling wanly. “I’m glad you’re here, Benny,” he said before turning to grab his bag and backpack from the bench and jog to the parking lot.

Dean pulled in a few minutes later. “Hey sport, sorry I’m late,” he said as he stepped out to pop the trunk. “One of the guys had a two person job and it ran over a little. How was practice?”

“It was good.” Ben grinned, an idea sprouting, just a little. If he could just get Benny on board… “We got a new coach today. He seems pretty cool.”

“Oh, well, awesome. Maybe you guys’ll start to feel more like a team, huh?”

Ben tossed his bags in the trunk and then followed Dean to the front, sliding into his seat. “Yeah I hope so. Right now, I just want a shower. I don’t think I’ve run so much in my _life_.”

Dean chuckled. “Well I think I can make that happen for you. How’s grilled chicken sound for dinner?”

“Sounds great,” Ben agreed, distracted. How to get Benny on board with his plan was going to be the hard part, but he knew that it could work. _He still loves dad, dad still loves him…_ It was hard for Ben to keep his excitement to himself. He _knew_ they’d be an awesome family! He just had to remind Dean of that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m so sorry, Ben,” Dean said as he dropped him off at the field on Saturday. “Jim called off last minute, and I _have_ to get that Cavalier done today or I’ll lose that bonus he offered on the rush job. Uncle Sammy and Aunt Jess will be here, and they’ll take you home after, okay?”

“It’s fine dad,” Ben said, bumping shoulders with Dean before opening up his door. “I’ll be fine. Good luck with that car. I’ll see you tonight, okay?” Actually, Ben _didn’t_ mind that his dad couldn’t make it. If he’d come, he wouldn’t have been able to hide who his coach was. Uncle Sammy would keep his secret if he asked, and he still needed a little time to bring Benny around to his idea.

He grabbed his bag from the trunk and waved as Dean pulled away, then jogged over to where everyone was congregating. “Hey, Mr. LaFitte, can I talk to you for a sec?” It still felt _weird_ to call him that, but since that was what everyone else called him, he tried not to stick out too much.

“Sure thing, Ben, what’s up?” He looked up from the clipboard he was writing on, and Ben took a deep breath.

“Look. I think… I really think my dad misses you. A lot.”

Benny sighed. “Ben, we’ve had this conversation. Your dad had his reasons, brotha, and I don’t know what they were. But I don’t want to push him. He’s allowed to make decisions like this for himself.”

“No, no, I know! It’s just… He _really_ misses you.” He glanced to where he could see the rest of the team showing up, but since Dean had to get to the garage, Ben had been pretty early. They had a few minutes. “I keep catching him checking his phone, and then putting it away, and, and, like, looking over to the other side of the couch when we’re watching TV.” He pulled a face. “Actually, it’s disgusting. Like a total chick flick or something. Look, my point is… He misses you. A lot. And I think… I know he wants to call you, but he won’t do it.”

“Well, if that’s his decision, Ben, it’s not my place, _or yours_ to try to change that.” He wouldn’t mention how many calls and texts he’d left those first few days after Ben got home from the hospital that had gone ignored, only to finally get one a week later that just said _I’m sorry. I can’t do this. I love you, but… goodbye._ That had hurt worse than anything else, that Dean couldn’t even say it to his face.

He’d gotten blackout drunk that night, and then woke up the next morning determined to put his hurt away. He was a big boy, he could handle it. Only his promise to Ben had kept him in contact with the Winchesters, and he tried not to let Ben know how much his insistence that he talk to Dean hurt.

“I _know_ ,” Ben said, shaking his head. “Look, it’s just. I love my dad, but he’s an idiot. I _know_ that he misses you, and if he would just _talk to you_ , you guys could work it out. You both keep telling me that it’s not my fault, but I’m not stupid. If I hadn’t gone into the hospital, dad wouldn’t have broken up with you. And… It’s probably not the last time I’m going to go into the hospital.”

“Ben, you _know_ it’s not your fault,” Benny said, cutting him off hurriedly. He didn’t want the young man to feel like he needed to fix the adults relationship because of something he had no control over. “Your allergies are just something that happened. We didn’t break up because you went into the hospital.”

“Duh!” Ben rolled his eyes. “I know _that_. Dad keeps telling me how freaked out he was because he was so far away when I had the allergy attack. But that’s not your fault, or his. I could have been on a field trip or something! I think he was just freaked out. I have allergies, that’s part of my life, but… I think it’s stupid for him to give up having a partner just because he’s afraid he might not be there when I need him.”

Benny smiled and shook his head. “You’re a pretty smart kid, Ben. Alright. I’ll bite. What were you thinkin’?”

Yes! Score! “Nothing fancy,” he said hurriedly. “Just… After our game next week, I thought we could all go out for pizza.” He flushed. “I kinda… didn’t tell him you were coaching my team. So if I tell him that coach is gonna take us out for pizza, and leave it vague, he’ll think it’s a team thing, and it’s Miss Freeman. So then he’ll show up. And once you _talk_ , I _know_ you can convince him. Please, Benny?”

“You’re somethin’ else, Ben-T,” Benny said with a laugh, clapping Ben on the shoulder. “Alright. We’ll try it your way. But listen… If this goes bad, and he still doesn’t want this, you’ve gotta let it go. Okay? Promise. No more playing matchmaker.”

Damn, that stung. Ben didn’t want to think about what would happen if his dad got mad and stormed out, or… Something. But he nodded. “Yeah, okay. I promise. One good shot.” He crossed his heart, and Benny drew him into a brief hug.

“Good. Alright, get out there and warm up, we’ve got a game to win, yeah?”

Ben nodded, grinning and jogging out to the field to join the other boys.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So dad, Coach wants to take us out for pizza after the game this week,” Ben said as they were driving toward the field. It was harder than he’d expected to keep the grin off his face. “He said the team’s doing so great he thinks we deserve a treat. We’re going to Vino’s after the game. Can we go, please? He said parents are welcome and stuff.”

Dean glanced over at Ben, then sighed. “Alright. He knows about your allergy, right? That he has to have them clean the kitchen first?”

“ _Yes_ dad, I’m not an idiot,” Ben said, rolling his eyes. “That’s why he wants to know ahead of time. He’s gonna call them and tell them about the team coming so they have a couple hours to plan for us.They don’t even have pesto on the menu, though, he checked.”

Dean nodded. “Well, okay then.” He hoped to meet this coach, because clearly he had Ben’s best interests at heart. “Sure. We can do that.”

“Awesome!” Ben hopped out of the car as soon as it stopped. “I’ll tell him. Are you and Uncle Sammy sitting on the far bleachers?”

“Yeah, probably. They’re easier for your Aunt Jess than the close ones, because they’re closer to the bathroom. I’ll still be able to see you, don’t worry.”

Ben grinned. “I’m not worried,” he said. “I just wanna know where to meet you after. Okay, see you soon!” He grabbed his bag and jogged toward the field, waving as Dean went off to park, then rushed up to Benny, who had been standing just behind the closer bleachers, out of sight of the parking lot.

“Okay. He’s gonna be at the far bleachers,” he said quickly. “So just… Stay on this side and he probably won’t see you.” He bounced on his toes, dropping his bag. “And he’s good with Vino’s. I told him you called to say we were coming so they’d clean the kitchen…” He loved that Benny didn’t hesitate to make those calls, and had, in fact, suggested it. “So we’re a go.”

Benny chuckled, shaking his head. “Alright, Ben-T. Well we’d better win this game, huh? Give us something to celebrate?”

Ben nodded; since Benny had taken over coaching, the boys played much more cohesively, and Ben felt like they were finally a _team_. It was awesome, and he thought he might actually have a chance at the varsity team next year. “Yessir, coach!” He said, and turned to head out onto the field with the other guys.

It was the best game they’d played all season. Ben was flying high on elation when he kicked the ball to Dave and his friend kicked it into the goal in the final seconds of the last half, taking them from tied, 1-1, to winning the game. The boys hooted and hollered, and generally celebrated in the center of the field. By the time they separated, Ben could see his dad headed toward him. _Shit_ , he thought, and glanced around for Benny. If he didn’t do something, it would all fall apart!

So he broke away from the other guys and darted to the fence. “Hey dad! Wasn’t that awesome? Did you see my kick?”

“I sure did, buddy!” Dean said, grabbing his son and pulling him into a hug. “That was awesome. Great work. I’m so proud of you guys! I can see how hard you’ve all been working.” He grinned and released him. “Alright, so how about I pull the car around and we’ll head over for pizza, sound good?”

“Yeah, awesome,” Ben said. “I’ll grab my bag.” He let Dean go, and turned to go grab his stuff. “We’re still on,” he told Benny, bouncing a little more. “See you soon?”

“Sure thing, brotha,” he said, chuckling. “And hey, good job out there.”

“Thanks.” Ben grinned, and hugged Benny once, before turning and running to the side of the road. He didn’t want to blow it too early.

They pulled up at the pizza place and Ben slipped out of the car. “Coach should be here soon, but he told me to go in and have you tell them we’re here while we wait for everybody.” Benny had called in the order, but he had to get Izzy before he left, since her mom had kept her while he had the soccer game. Ben was almost more excited about seeing her than he was about the possibility of his plan coming together. Almost. If this worked out, he’d be seeing her again every other weekend, and that? Was awesome.

“Okay.” Dean didn’t even sound skeptical, he just shut Baby off and climbed out of the car. He and Ben headed inside the parlor, to the counter. “Hi, we’re here with the soccer team?”

The teen at the counter nodded. “Oh, yeah, we’ve got your order in the oven right now. You’re the ones who needed the clean kitchen, right?”

Dean was obviously relieved, and he nodded. “Yeah, that’s us.”

“Cool, man, well go ahead and have a seat, it’s just gonna be a couple minutes. Everything’s in the oven, it’ll be out shortly.”

“Great, thanks.” Dean glanced around, and saw a cluster of open booths and tables. “Let’s head that way,” he said, nodding to the corner. “Then we can watch for everyone else. Actually, where is everybody?”

Ben shrugged. “I dunno? Coach should be here soon; maybe he’ll know.”

Dean settled into a seat and Ben sat across from him, glad his dad had picked the corner booth. He was sure he and Benny would be more comfortable talking here than one of the more open tables. The bell on the door jangled a moment later, and Ben saw his dad stiffen. He glanced over his shoulder, and there was Benny, Izzy holding his hand. Her stuffed lemur dangled from her other hand, and Ben grinned at the unexpected sight.

Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Ben, and she let go of Benny’s hand to dart forward. “Ben-T! Ben-T!” Her pink skirt flew up all around her as she rushed to their table. “Ben-T you’re here and I missed you! Look! I brought my lemur with me!” She clambered up into the booth without hesitation, hugging Ben close. Then she looked over a little shy smile on her face. “I miss you too, Dee,” she said, her voice muffled since her mouth was still partly pushed against Ben’s shoulder.

Dean, for his part, looked supremely uncomfortable. “Uh, yeah… Hi, Izzy,” he said. He smiled at her, though, and gave her a little wave. By that time, Benny had made it to their table. “Hello, Cher,” he said, keeping his voice neutral. “It’s good to see you.”

“Uh, you too.” Dean glanced at Ben, who for his part, looked decidedly _not_ surprised. “We’re just waiting for Ben’s soccer team to get here… Celebratory lunch for winning their game.”

Ben couldn’t help himself, and he snorted out a laugh. Dean looked at him sharply again. “Something you wanna share, Ben?”

In answer, Ben slid out of the booth, holding Izzy still. “Uh, yeah,” he said, unable to hold his grin back anymore. “Dad? Meet my soccer coach, Mr. LaFitte. He’s, ah, been working hard with us for a couple weeks.”

“What?” Dean’s surprise was obvious on his face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because!” Ben stepped a little closer to his dad. “I love you, but you’re an idiot, dad.”

“Ben…” Benny’s voice held gentle warning, before Dean could even marshall a response to that. “Don’t talk to your father that way. I know you’re upset, but that’s no call to be rude.”

Ben flushed. “Sorry dad.” He took a deep breath and sighed it out. “Look. I know how much you missed Benny and Izzy. I missed them too. You’re always telling me when I’m upset I need to use my words, but you never do! So… I kinda didn’t tell you. So you could see him. And talk.”

Dean frowned. “I really don’t appreciate this.” He pushed up from the booth. “Being manipulated like this is not cool, Ben.”

“No, dad, _please_.” Ben stepped forward. “Please. Just talk to him. Just five minutes. I know it wasn’t cool, but it was _killing_ me to know you broke up with him because I got sick. And don’t tell me it’s not true; it was _fine_ until I went to the ER. But this probably won’t be the last time I get sick like that, and I don’t want you to miss out on something _amazing_ just because I might get sick.”

Dean reluctantly sat back down, eyeing Ben suspiciously. “Well. Okay. We’ll talk. But when we get home, you and I are having a talk, too. About the position of teenagers in their parent’s love lives.”

Ben grinned. “Deal. C’mon, Izzy, let’s go play Pac-Man!” And with that he swept away from the table, Izzy still in his arms, clinging to him like a monkey. Benny took Ben’s place, sinking onto the bench opposite.

“Let me start with… I’m sorry,” he said, reaching out to take Dean’s hand and then thinking better of it, pulling his hand back. “I told Ben we should respect your wishes, but… I missed you, Cher. I made him promise, though, that if we talk and you say you still don’t want _us_ that he’d leave you alone.”

“It’s not that.” Dean pushed the pepper and parmesan shakers across the table before looking over at Benny. “You know I love you. I really do. But Ben… He’s all I’ve got, you know? And I was _so_ far away. What if something happened to him and I was across town and I couldn’t get to him? I just… There’s a reason I wasn’t dating before, you know?”

“You think I don’t get that? My little girl lives so far from me, it takes me an hour round trip to get her. Every time I drop her off I wonder if maybe I won’t see her again. If her mom won’t be in a car accident, or a house fire, or… Something. But, Dean, that’s _life_. We can’t control everything. Do you really wanna stop living just because something _might_ happen?”

“Of course not!” Dean swallowed. He hadn’t thought of that, though. Maybe Benny was the perfect person to understand why Dean was hesitant about dating. “But I’ve only got four more years until he goes to college, and I won’t be _able_ to protect him.” And that thought was _terrifying_. If this had been anyone but Benny there was no way he’d even be saying it out loud. It _was_ Benny, though, and they still had that connection that had drawn Dean to him in the first place.

“I get that, Cher.” This time, Benny _did_ reach out and take Dean’s hand, stilling it where it was spinning the pepper shaker on it’s edge. “I do. But I love Ben, too. He’s a great kid. And Izzy loves him, too. You know she still won’t let me buy peanut butter? Even after I told her Ben probably wouldn’t be coming over anymore, she said no. Just in case.” He sighed, waiting for Dean to look up and meet his eyes.

Finally he did, and those green eyes captured him, just like they always did. “Please, Dean,” he said, finally. “If you tell me to go, I will. I promise. But… Don’t. Give us a chance again. I miss you so much.”

Dean stared into Benny’s eyes for what seemed like a very long time, but finally he nodded, slowly. “I miss you too,” he said, squeezing Benny’s hand. “Okay. If you… You understand. Ben’s always gonna come first for me. I mean… He’s my kid. I need you to be okay with that.”

Benny laughed softly, and Dean felt his heart melt a little more. “And Izzy’s always gonna come first with me. The difference is she’s gonna share that number one spot with Ben. Because… If we do this, then they’re _both_ my kids, and family comes first.”

Dean smiled, finally a little more relaxed. “A man after my own heart,” he said, nodding. “Okay. Okay. Let’s do this.” He squeezed Benny’s hand, and then let it go as the teenager came over with a stack of plates and cups and a large pizza, half meat lover and half Hawaiian.

“Okay, folks… You need anything else, just holler.” Then he headed back through the tables to the register, leaving Dean and Benny alone again.

Dean laughed. “Fruit? On a pizza? I take it back. I don’t know you.” The tension broken, he pushed up from the table again, grinning. “I’ll be right back… I’m gonna go get our kids, then.”

Benny stood up with him. “Just a second, Cher,” he said, halting Dean’s progress toward the arcade. “There’s somethin’ else.”

Dean paused, frowning. “What?” He didn’t get any further, though, because Benny stepped in, pulling Dean close and kissing him thoroughly. Dean was breathless when they broke apart.

“Just missed you, Cher,” Benny said, lips slightly shiny and red. “I love you.”

“Yeah. You know what? I love you, too.”


	9. Epilogue

"Hey, mom... Can you believe I'm gonna be a sophomore tomorrow? It's crazy, right? I made starter on the varsity soccer team, though! Dad said you'd be really proud of me; I hope he's right.” Ben shifted a little, and glanced over at the car, where his dad was waiting for him.

“Speaking of dad, he met an awesome guy. His name's Benny. I know. Funny, right? Anyway, he's a firefighter, and he's _really_ great at helping with my math homework. And I have a little sister now, too. Her name's Izzy, and she's pretty cool, for a six year old. I hope you don't mind that I invited them to IHOP with us. Dad said I didn't have to, we could keep this just for us, but, well, they're family now. Wish you could meet them.”

Dean leaned on Benny as his fiance watched Ben talk to Lisa. Benny’s eyes were sad, and he gently shushed Izzy when she started to get a little antsy. It had taken a lot of convincing on Ben’s part to get Benny and Izzy to come, since he hadn’t wanted to intrude on such a private moment, and Benny wanted to be sure his little girl wouldn’t inadvertently ruin the day for Ben.

After a few more minutes, Ben smiled and shrugged. “And… I’m gonna get my driver’s permit next month. Dad said he’d help me buy a car once I get my license, so I can take myself to practice. I’m pretty excited about that, too. Well, I guess that’s everything… I’m gonna go get some breakfast now. But hey... Love you, mom..."

Ben turned and walked back up the short path to the car, a sad smile on his face. Dean hugged him tight, but then Ben pulled away and knelt down. “Hey Iz, wanna get some pancakes?”

“Yeah!” The little girl threw her arms into the air, begging to be picked up. Ben grinned, swooping down to pick her up and spin her around. Somehow, it didn’t hurt so much today to slide into Baby’s back seat and let his dad drive them away.

“Your momma sounds like a real good lady,” Benny said after a few minutes. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet her.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ben agreed. “But dad always says she’s watching over us, so… I’m sure she approves.”

They pulled into the IHOP parking lot a few minutes later, everyone in a somber mood. Even Izzy had picked up on it and fallen silent, holding tight to her stuffed lemur with one hand and Ben’s hand with the other.

They were seated quickly when they got there, as they always were, and Ben leaned over to help Izzy with her menu. “What do you want to eat today, Iz?”

“I want the clown pancake!” Izzy said, grinning and pointing on the kid’s menu to the chocolate chip pancake with a clown face made of fruit and whipped cream. “With chocolate milk!”

“Again?” Ben grinned, flipping his placemat over and taking one of her crayons to draw her a little doodle. “You get that every time!”

Izzy took the crayon and turned his swirl into an awkward flower. “It’s my favorite! What are you getting, Ben-T?”

“I think I’m going to have the banana pancakes, but no nuts,” he said, watching her scribble a violent patch of spikes. He took the crayon back and began to meticulously transform it to a shark, much to her delight.

Dean watched them, a smile on his lips. Benny’s hand was a warm weight on his leg, and when Ben looked up, he was smiling, too.

“What about you guys?” Ben asked as he drew another scribble and passed it across the table for Dean.

“Aw, you know me,” Dean said, turning Ben’s scribble into an airplane. “Predictable as pie. Country fried steak.” He passed his scribble over to Benny, who took the paper without complaint, staring at it, turning it this way and that before finally turning Dean’s scribble into a cat.

“I’m going to have the bacon omelet.” He passed a scribble over to Izzy, who grew immediately intent on what it was going to be.

“Sounds yummy,” Ben said, mostly for Izzy’s benefit. He leaned back in his chair, sighing softly. Yeah. This wasn’t the life he’d expected, when he was little, but he had a little sister, two loving parents, and pancakes. Life was good. It was very good.

Dean chuckled softly, watching his son color intently on the back of his placemat, letting Izzy take over without hesitation. It had been such a long time since he'd seen Ben so relaxed. Izzy, too, with a ready smile and her bright imagination brought such needed sunshine into their house that had been dark for so long. 

"Thanks for coming," Dean murmured to Benny, sotto voce, and squeezed his hand where it rested on his knee. "I don't know how I got so lucky... You know, Lisa wanted to name Ben after me. Her family had a lot of juniors." He chuckled. "I didn't want that for him, I didn't want there to be all kinds of expectations on him, you know?"

Benny nodded, looking a little confused. "I understand, Cher. My family did a lot of those too. I was glad I had a girl, I didn't have to worry about that."

Dean grinned. "Yeah, well. I just think it's funny. He ended up with one, anyway. Providence, is what I say. Everyone's gonna assume he's named after you. I guess Lisa got her way after all."

Benny laughed, and Izzy looked up. "What's so funny, daddy?" 

"Oh, nothing, princess," Benny said. "Just something silly Dee said." 

Dean smiled. "I'm just really glad you're here today, sweetheart," he said. Dean reached out to squeeze her hand, then leaned back. "I'm glad we're here as a family." And that sounded better than anything had for a long time.


End file.
